Demon of Deception
by Mekuda
Summary: It was because of his loyal butler that his parents were engulfed in flames, that his fiancee's soul had been ripped from her fragile body. Ciel merges into the Underworld in order to fulfill his long desired revenge. However, he finds that it will be a long and difficult task in order to reveal the location of the demon. [Sequel to "Where Have You Gone?"]
1. A Burning Rage

_This is the second story to "Where Have You Gone?" Some features won't make sense unless you read the first story. I wouldn't say it's entirely necessary to read it considering they almost have nothing to do with each other, but if you want to understand Ciel's desires and passions then it would be best to read the prequel._

Chapter One: A Burning Rage

It had been 13 years since his parents' death, and six months since his fiancée's murder. Sebastian, his loyal butler, had been the cause for all of the horrific demises. Everything had been strategically schemed in order to perfect the most phenomenal crime. After Elizabeth's death, the young man was framed for her grisly fate and was forced to flee from the depths of London. He soon found himself wanted in locations past that and past that, until finally all of Europe knew of his unlawful act. The Middlefords thought of him scandalous. The Queen herself was on a search to end the parade of her former watchdog. He had nothing left. He had no friends, no family. He was a criminal by his butler's doings and would be on the run for the remainder of his lifetime. Not to mention that he was also a demon, and so his lifetime would be a very long time.

Unfortunately, he was a demon thanks to his own doings.

In order to avoid the calamity of being a wanted criminal, he fled into the Underworld to chase after Sebastian; the reason for his revenge. Sebastian had destroyed his life, his future, his past. Sebastian spread bloodshed and deceit into all of his family members. Sebastian caused him to face this unutterably gruesome future. That butler had gone against all orders, but nothing mattered anymore. The soul in which Sebastian craved so much was no longer under his entitlement, considering the young master now portrayed the likes of a demon.

Ciel Phantomhive would be searching for Sebastian Michaelis. He had been searching for that demon the entire time, and he didn't even realize it. Sebastian had lead him to believe that he was always on the trail to find the criminal, when in fact, the criminal was nonetheless always by his side. The acts were brilliantly thought through, until the young master's soul became corrupt. This had somewhat marked the defeat of Sebastian, but not entirely. Ciel would be safe in relations to keeping his soul, but Sebastian was strong and could easily break the earl. It would be a difficult, no- _nearly impossible_ task to defeat the potency of Sebastian. However, the noble had been searching for the demon all along, and now he knew exactly who to search for and knew of his locations; Sebastian would want Ciel to follow him. It was only the personalities which they withheld, so the young master would have to be extra careful when reuniting with his intricate nemesis.

And so there he stood all alone in the midst of the treacherous Underworld. Demons savagely reigned in the depths of the malevolent pit. Some rapidly flew amongst the smoke-filled sky and some wickedly crawled along the dusty, ashy floor. There was no sun, but only distant flames that lit the world like a luminous candle. Far off were large castles and towns, both crumbled and still standing tall. Dry, desert mountains flooded the map along with black and leafless trees. The Underworld was much like Hell, to Ciel's comprehension, only without the countless torture and endless lava pits. The air wasn't humid, but icy to the touch. It left chills on the body of the naïve half-demon, who slowly and silently and in solitude crossed the desert field.

His crimson and contracted eyes scanned the area in search for the nearby town that Sebastian had spoken to him about in the past as his loyal butler; Urbem Excoquere, Latin for the City of Scorch. Supposedly, it was Sebastian's birthplace. There was bound to be someone in the area who knew of the demon's whereabouts.

It was difficult to see amongst the red of the sky, but his eyes would soon adjust in the meantime. He drug his feet across desert sand. No one was there to aid him or assist him on his weary journey for revenge. He was now on his own. Sebastian wouldn't be there to feed him or dress him or solve his problems. However, it had been a total of 10 years that Sebastian hadn't aided him with any of his duties. The 23 year old Ciel Phantomhive had been forced to abide in his own doings by himself, which had always been great practice for a dire situation such as this.

Ciel approached the towering stone wall of Urbem Excoquere, which was actually a large barrier protecting a town inside from the outside uncivilized demons. He quietly trudged inside the gates and made his way through the crowded pathway. Coarse demons roamed the streets and knocked into the wondering protagonist. They watched him in disgust, staring at his alien eye and his foreign, royal clothes that had yet to be stained with dirt. They knew nothing of his travels or his character. This creature was strange indeed, and so they wouldn't bother to tangle with Ciel unless they knew of his strength and ability.

The young man came to a halt by the market and scanned the area with his eyes in hopes of catching a familiar face, but not to his surprise he knew no one. He strolled to an elder demoness sitting quietly on the floor behind a table filled with pottery. "I'm looking for a demon who goes by the name of Sebastian Michaelis," the earl stated. He pulled out a scroll from his inside coat pocket and unraveled a picture of the creature. The photograph was flaunted in front of her face.

It appeared as if the woman was studying it. Her long, curved fingers and nails took a gentle hold of the paper. "Ah… yes," she whispered warmly. "The demon… in which you speak… abides somewhere in this town…" She discontinued her speech for several moments, catching her breath again.

Ciel was becoming impatient with this sort of behavior. He tore the sheet from her grip and grunted as he marched away from her. "Hey wait!" A voice called in the background. Ciel whipped his head around in a frustrated manner to see who the beggar was. A tall and large man waved him back, so the young master returned to the demon's spot. "I might know of his location, but I will need some sort of pay," the animal hummed. Ciel scowled at the filthy creature. He was in no mood or position to pay this slime, but he was desperate for a sign. The stubborn earl carefully pulled out his wallet and began to slip out a few notes, but the small demon looked at noble as if he lacked intelligence. "What the hell is that? I don't want paper! I need gold, you scum!" The demon hissed as he began to shove back on the noble.

The old lady was still dragging words as the other demon pushed Ciel away, and the hideous wretch quickly retreated back to his stand. Ciel masked a look of pure detestation but didn't dare to pick a fight with the wicked idiot. He was unsure of its capabilities and didn't wish to be wounded just in case. Instead, he turned back to the babbling woman, deciding to pay good mind to her again.

"… and if you follow that wall… you will eventually arrive to a door… with… a sign named… Michaelis…" She finally wheezed. Ciel watched her spit and cough out a strange black blood and feared he would catch whatever illness she carried, so he quickly split from the scene without a single sign of gratitude. It would be extremely toilsome considering he had no idea which wall where the door lied. His only clue was that the door was located somewhere within the walls of the city.

The young master followed the corridors of the scorching town, which ironically lacked flames yet was hot. The poor young man had to remove his ultramarine coat and throw it over his shoulder to cool himself off. Being a noble of high rank, it seemed lowly and improper to wear his clothes in such a fashion, but he was sweating and there was no other means of helping it. Along the stone walls sat muddy peasants covered in ashes and rags. They were all old and hideous or young and starving. The scene was far worse than the uncivilized areas in London. Every corner he turned either laid a melting carcass or a body nearing death. The stench became unbearable and he had to cover his face with his coat in order to breathe. It was almost impossible to fathom that such a clean and well-mannered demon such as Sebastian was born in such unsightly slumps.

The nauseated earl finally came to his desired destination after what seemed like decades. There was a wooden door with two plants neatly placed on either side. On the door was a sign labeled "Michaelis." This was the spot. Sebastian was just on the other side of that door. Who knew it would have been so easy to find his designated area?

It would seem idiotic to knock on the door. Sebastian could probably smell his scent and was most likely already forming his escape. It would be wiser to barge into the scene, although Ciel was weak and didn't stand a chance against the sturdy demon. But he couldn't waste another opportunity to let the demon go. The earl's chest began to race as he firmly placed his hand on the warm door. He was about to battle Sebastian Michaelis! The noble slammed the door open and dashed into the room. He did his best to make himself appear ferocious and deadly with his strong stance. "Sebastian Michaelis, come out here and prove to me what sort of demon you truly are!" Ciel roared, taking another bold step into the room. But all was silent. "What? Don't you dare coward out, now?!"

"He's not here!" A cranky voice creaked from one of the rooms. "Silence yourself, already!" A very little, old lady began to emerge from another room. She looked as if she should have died years ago. Her skin was an awful purple-grey and her hair was almost completely missing from her scalp. The woman's pupils nearly vanished from her small eyes and she bore no teeth. Her wrinkles seemed to be hanging off of her face. The large, brown horns on her head were now tarnished and busted and cracked. All she had thrown over her was a dirty lavender tunic that bore holes. The scene was pitiful, but a comment on her well-being wouldn't be made. He was there for answers, and he planned on getting some. She didn't seem all too happy with what had just barged into her home. "Who do you think you are, starting a mess inside my little abode?"

Ciel's face flushed from embarrassment. It didn't cross his mind that Michaelis would be the name of some random woman. After all, Sebastian Michaelis was the name that he had given his butler; the butler wasn't born with it. That would mean that this trip would be far more difficult than comprehended. The earl looked away from her and scratched the back of his neck. "S-Sorry!" He stammered, backing away to the door again. He was just about to leave, but another name echoed in his mind. He slowly turned back to stare at the grouchy woman who masked displeased expression. "Do you know a demon by the name of… Lucifer?"

"And what if I do, huh? Any money on you? Scraps? You're not just going to bust into my home, ask me questions, and then not offer me anything, are you?" She huffed. Ciel sneered. He wasn't about to waste any more time with this foul beast. He turned on his heel once more, but she stopped him again with another cry. "Wait, please stay!" She begged, suddenly changing the mood. Ciel stopped, not turning back. "I might know a thing or two. Please stay. It's rare that anyone comes to visit me anymore!"

Ciel's stomach growled. He looked back at her. The woman widely grinned and nodded, knowing exactly how to make him stay. She rushed back into the room she had recently exited from and returned with what looked like normal human bread. He thought that demons only consumed souls and had no use for human food, but apparently it wasn't so. The eager noble sat down on her small couch, which oddly enough was only blocks of wood stacked onto each other with a blanket thrown over it. The old woman then set the bread on a small coffee table. To eat only a loaf of bread would be new to the noble who only consumed the most intricate of foods, but it would have to do since he hadn't eaten in so long.

The strange creature only silently observed Ciel as he picked at his wheat. She widely grinned at him. "That Lucifer demon stole eight souls from me in my lifetime. He's quite the swindler."

"Sounds like who I'm looking for." The cautious earl's eyes slowly drifted from his meal as he glared at the sneaky woman in wonder. "So you _do_ know of him?"

The greedy wretch bowed her head and cackled. She stretched her long, dark nails above her head and stroked her dry, dirtied head. "He's quite the charmer too. Tall and broad and manly and skin like diamonds, that boy is. He used his flirtatious skills to work all my hard earned souls from me. I was a fool to believe he'd desire an elder demoness like myself, but we all fall under odd spells now and then." Her golden eyes moved from the table to the young man, and she seductively flickered her tongue around. "What makes an innocent boy like you want to tangle with a dangerous man like him? What makes you want to talk to Lucifer so badly?"

The noble's eyes narrowed and he looked away from her again. It wasn't her business to poke around in his, and it didn't seem necessary to tell her. However, it deemed on him sapient if she knew of his troubles so that maybe she could get a better understanding of his crave to find the butler. "He's deceived me as well. I used to be human, you see, but I formed an order declaring that I'd become demon as well. But that's not why he turned against me." Ciel spoke clearly and softly, reflecting on the dreadful past. He nervously folded his hands and sighed. "Before that time came, he had murdered my parents and every family member I had ever loved. After I became a demon, he killed off my fiancée and turned everyone left against me … He's the master of trickery."

The hag was no longer wickedly grinning at him, but was now masking an expression of deep sorrow. She crawled onto the table and passionately placed her feeble hands on his and looked up at him. "What may I do for you?"

The noble moved his hands away from her and placed them on his lap as he leaned back against the bench. "I'd like to know of his whereabouts."

"Well, he lives in the castle, for that matter. If your desires are to speak to the King then you'll have to be of high royalty. Sorry, trashboy."

"Trashboy?!"

"Maybe if you're lucky, you can schedule an appointment with him, but it will be difficult. Only the most important of people actually mange to get a spot in with him." She went on, almost not stopping for a breath. "I might be able to help you out, but only if you help me." Her sunset eyes glimmered when she said these words, and the earl suddenly felt uneasy with this scheme.

Ciel scoffed at the idea in excuse not to aid her. "Does everyone want something in this town?!" He stood up from his seat and took out a coin from his wallet and tossed it onto the table with a flick of his thumb. "Thank you for the bread, but I have no time to assist you." He turned to walk out, but the infantile woman jumped from her perch and clawed onto the earl's leg. Ciel's heart jumped. He instantly whipped his gun from his coat and jammed it against the old woman's head. "Get off of me! Now!"

The demon only cackled again and glued herself to his slacks. "You know those sort of human weapons won't do you any good against a demon like me!" She hissed. The small creature crawled up his clothes and perched herself on his shoulder. Her tongue wiggled in his ear as she spoke; "I'm an old woman, you see, and labor is far beyond my reach now. Bring me a shinigami and I will gladly be able to help you on your quest."

"Shinigami?" Ciel questioned as the demon flew off of his shoulder with her black and dusted wings. "What could a demon like you possibly need a shinigami for?"

She curled herself up on the table and eyed him, bearing those awful pointed yellow teeth she flaunted before. "Demon men are so cruel and don't know how to treat a lady. I want a hunky man; one who will do my bidding for me. I'd like to have you, but… you're only human and won't be able to easily complete my tasks." She lifted her neck and batted her eyelashes. "Bring me a benevolent shinigami- and not a human! I would most likely eat him… I'll be getting your pass into the castle in the meantime!"

The earl's gaze questioned the furtive woman's, but he stepped out of her abode and closed the door shut.

"Also," the woman shouted from behind the door, "I wouldn't go around telling everyone you were human. We don't like those sort of people roaming on our turf." And everything became silent again.

So his journey would begin. Thankfully, he knew two shinigamis. The difficult task would be to convince one of them to travel into the Underworld. It would be complicated to drag Grell down there without the presence of the seducing butler. If he wanted that redhead to come down, he'd have to tell that death god everything. However, the shinigami would be tempted to tag along with him, which would make his journey far more perplexing. It would definitely be clever to beg for the Undertaker's help. That imbecile would easily fall into Ciel's beseeching hands. He could only hope that this strange little demoness would think that the Undertaker actually portrayed "hunky" nature. How annoying a task it would be.

Ciel strode through the dying streets with his head held tall and his coat inelegantly thrown over his face, subtracting some of his noble points. The stench was still unbearable and he couldn't afford to hurl all over the only clothes he had with him at the moment. His next move would be to return to the human world in search for that shinigami. Thankfully, the Undertaker wouldn't be hard to find for the fact that he always lounged around in the graveyards. The real question pertained as to how the noble would return to the surface. He had only just learned how to warp into the Underworld, and had yet to learn how to put his other demon abilities to use. Regardless of the issue, Ciel would have to spend that time investigating how to transport his being back to the surface.

The anxious earl looked side to side before vanishing into an alley. He figured he would attempt to return to the human world the same way he had appeared in the Underworld. The half-demon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He concentrated on the exact location he wished to reveal himself; the graveyard in which Undertaker most often resided in. He could feel his feet began to go numb, until the loss of feeling crawled up his legs and spread throughout his entire body. A deep, thick fog began to engulf him. He coughed a little, and soon became blinded by the dense smoke. His head began to feel light and his breath began to slip from his lips. The feeling he was experiencing had never been this excruciating on his way to the Underworld, so why was it such trouble retreating to the surface? The earl suddenly lost all sight; everything went black.

All of a sudden, the bewildered youth found himself floating in the midst of the sky. He was hovering over a small and shallow pond. Without a second notice, Ciel plummeted into the pool, letting the water splash every which way. He panicked and coughed as he staggered to flee from the icy water. That wasn't exactly the location he had in mind to land, but at least it was close to his destination. There stood England's finest church. The stone walls untouched by time and the stained glass windows vibrant from the glistening sunshine flaunted themselves gracefully. The soaking young master stood from his ground and let the water drip from his body as he made his way into the elegant structure. The doors flung open with a single push and almost no effort.

Inside calmly sat the Undertaker in one of the cathedral rows, patiently awaiting his guest. The familiar grin enveloped on his cheeks as he dipped his top hat to his friend. "Good evening, earl."


	2. A Captured Shinigami

Chapter Two: A Captured Shinigami

"You're all grown up. It's been a long while since I've seen you," Undertaker greeted, clutching on tightly to his shovel. He had just finished burying another grave and was dirtied with mud and soil. "What brings you here so sudden in a rush, hmm?"

The troubled earl bowed his head and took seat in the row next to his acquaintance's isle. He would have to be heedful not to reveal too much of the conflict or else this shinigami might depart from the idea. "My butler has done me wrong. I'm looking for someone to venture with me while I search for Sebastian; someone whose knowledge is extensive of the area. You are the only one I know who can guide me through the Underworld where my butler abides in." Ciel lowered his voice so that now it would be more soft and persuasive. If he portrayed himself as extremely indigent then maybe the Undertaker would feel compassioned to aid his long-time friend. "Will you help?"

The two remained in silence for a short while, and then suddenly the Undertaker kicked his feet up and threw his hands back and let out a wild bellow of laughter. It wasn't long before the unusual character gained sanity again and relaxed himself. He brushed his hair with his nails and let the strands entangle in his fingers. "Why yeees, I know a little about the Underworld. I've read all about the place in libraries and visited a few times in my undying lifetime." The shinigami stood from his seat and joined Ciel in the same isle. He threw his arm around his friend's shoulder. His free hand lifted to the earl's chin and stroked him with his long, charcoal nails. "However, you'll have to do me a favor if you want my precious help."

Ciel let out a deep sigh. He was tired of having to do things for people. The earl shoved Undertaker away from him and stood up in the center of the church. "Alright, Undertaker? What do you want? Let's make this quick."

The shinigami let out another chuckle and leaned back in the seat. "You should know what I want by now, earl!" He wickedly cheered, sitting up again. He leaned forward and set his elbows on his knees, letting his head rest in his hand. "I want a good laugh, and not that anything like that horrendous laugh I just bellowed a moment ago."

"A good laugh, huh?" Ciel stalled. Evidently he was never the best joke teller, and was absolutely terrible when it came to making people smile. In fact, he did quite the opposite. Fortunately, the Undertaker wouldn't be so difficult considering he giggled at almost everything. Any joke would cause that animal to rise in laughter. The earl thought of a horrible joke he had heard a long while back and decided that the Undertaker would find most amusement in that one. He turned his head to look back at the death god who was waiting patiently with a small smile locked onto his face. "Why did Sally fall off of the swing?"

The Undertaker's smile broadened a little. "Why?"

Ciel threw his arms out wide and forced an awkward smile. "Because she had no arms!" He brightly cheered, his eyebrow twitching and a bead of sweat running down his forehead.

The shinigami only sat and stared blankly at the earl through his bangs. The same previous grin was glued on his face, but he let out neither a bellow nor giggle. "Good enough, I suppose," he encouraged. Ciel threw his arms down and scoffed. The Undertaker now stood from his seat and threw his shovel over his shoulder, now walking around the earl in circles. "Unfortunately for you, I have a duty in this graveyard that I must abide by. For me to tag along with you is not an option. However…" He suddenly casually dropped his shovel and the piercing clank it made echoed to the lofty ceiling. "I'm sure that Grell would love to join you as long as Sebastian's about!"

"Augh! This is exactly why I can't have him!" The frustrated noble yelled, letting out another echo. "I can't have either one of you meeting up with that damned butler for personal reasons. I just need a shinigami. I can't explain anything to you, but since you can't help me out there's no use in telling you anything anyway." He felt as if his time was running short. He stomped over to the Undertaker and took a strong hold on his shoulders. "You have to help me capture Grell!" Ciel shouted in his face. "I don't care what it takes. I need him to come with me if you're not going to!"

"Aahhh! You know that redhead won't run along with you so easily!" He hummed. He removed himself from the young man and began walking towards the cathedral doors. "I have a plan, but I'm not sure if you're up to it."

Ciel was losing his patience once more. "I'll do it! I'll do anything!" He offered, trailing behind Undertaker's quick steps.

"Weeell, alriiight!" The Undertaker stopped in front of the doors. His pale, boney hands slowly reached out and took hold of the door's narrow handles. With a strong and elegant pull, he flew the entrance open backwards, letting in the light of the day. The sunset beamed beautiful inside the church hall. It basked the room in a breathtaking array of gold, the light trickling against the deep oak chairs, the stone walls, and stretching across into the back of the church. The vibrancy baked Ciel and Undertaker's clothes in a sea of almost white, and their shadows extended up the walls of the cathedral. From where they were, the noble could easily see the graveyard. The orange sun also bathed the ghostly yard in the golden light. It reflected a holy nature, untouched by the impurities of London's filthy scums. Inside that graveyard lied the body of the love of his life. The noble strode past the Undertaker and stood at the fence of the graveyard, looking into the vast field to see what else slept within it.

The shinigami skipped behind Ciel and grinned. "I'll be getting some needed things for my plan. You wait right here and I'll return shortly," he assured. With that, the Undertaker bounced away to gather all of his items.

Ciel wistfully gazed into the sorrowful place, disregarding everything in present time. A creaking noise filled the open air as he moved the iron gate. The noble stepped inside the devastating place. He could clearly see Elizabeth Middleford's tombstone resting peacefully under a willow tree. The woeful earl trudged to her spot and gently kneeled down in front of her stone. The engravement was still fresh and new; he could read her name, her lifespan, the carving of the roses on the bottom. Ciel's eyes narrowed. He stretched a heavy hand out and tenderly placed it on the top of the boulder. His fingers began to feel numb, and so did the rest of his body. He missed her greatly and regretted ever having to leave her for such a long time. Had he ceased to depart in the first place, she would have never faced that unutterable fate. "Forgive me, Lizzie, my dearest fiancée. Let me promise that I will avenge you, as well as avenge my parents and myself," he softly whispered. The earl leaned forward and delicately kissed the gravestone as if that were her lips he had touched. He then stood up once again and took a few steps back to gaze at it.

Ciel portrayed a soft and bittersweet smile towards the stone. How he longed to see just a glimpse of Elizabeth's sweet face, but it was far too late for that. Along the whistling of the wind he could almost hear her soothing laughter. A few leaves danced past the basking earl, who lifted his head to look up at the darkened treetops. The gold of the sky blanketed the top of the scenery and left deep shadows beneath that covered Ciel in a ray of black, but every time the wind slightly blew, the leaves would follow and the gold of the sky would warm Ciel's face again. His smile disappeared, as reality hit him again. There was no use wallowing in the past; he was on a mission to destroy Sebastian. Standing around and wishing was going to get him nowhere.

He turned and exited the graveyard, loudly shutting the iron gate again that echoed a creaking noise. He then proceeded to march back to the church, but Undertaker was blocking the doorway. He was flaunting that awful grin again that he so intimately bore. "I've got something for you, earl," he squeaked as he held up a pile of black in his hands.

The noble crossed to his acquaintance stared abruptly at the clothing. His eyebrows creased deeply into a frown of confusion. "Is this Sebastian's uniform?! Where could you have possibly obtained these items?!"

The Undertaker brought the clothes back to his chest and stroked them with his nails. "He always wore such nice things…" He purred, not bothering to answer the question. His head suddenly lifted from the clothes to Ciel again, his wide grin never leaving his face for a moment. "You're going to disguise yourself as Sebastian so we can summon the redhead!"

"What?!" Ciel baffled, taking a sudden step back from the crazed fool. "I'm not putting that on so that Grell can drool all over me! Why can't you wear it?!"

He shoved the clothes into Ciel's chest and randomly pulled an overly enormous and peculiar looking rod from his backside. "I'll be the one carrying the net."

* * *

Ciel stood gauchely in one of England's main and well-known streets. He was now covered head to toe in Sebastian's slightly large uniform. The earl's hair had to be styled like the butler's as well, and one eye had to be forced close. Thankfully, his features looked remarkably similar to those of Sebastian's. However, he still felt entirely uneasy. He only hoped and begged that no one would recognize him and attempt to arrest him for the crimes that his butler had committed. His heart raced as every city dweller passed him, giving an awkward glance at the unmoved youthful man. Ladies blushed and giggled as they walked by while men scoffed and creased their eyebrows. Ciel let a nervous sigh slip from his lips. His eyes shifted to look at a far building corner where Undertaker slowly peeked his head from behind. The shinigami was tightly grasping the net as he gave a reassuring smile and a nod. The noble groaned. It was highly unlikely that Grell would show his face out in public like this, especially during the late night. But it was worth a shot.

Ciel began to slowly stride down the street. He could feel his face light up with crimson as he stopped at the edge of the sidewalk underneath one of the streetlights. It glistened on his body, highlighting the black of his clothing and dark hair. His eyebrow suddenly twitched in agitation; he couldn't believe he was about to do this. The earl closed his eyes and cleared his throat, attempting to deepen his voice. All of a sudden, Ciel jolted into the most awkward of poses, bringing everyone's attention to himself. "Ohhh, it is sooo hot outsiiide!" He deeply bellowed in effort to sound similar to his butler, suddenly throwing his coat off. Ladies giggled and screamed wildly as they jumped to grab at his clothing. "If only there was something to cool me down!" He cried again, seductively loosening his tie as he opened his red eye. He felt as if there were blithe stars and sparkles and bubbles fluttering about his space, but it was all definitely his imagination. "Could someone please help undress me?" He tossed his tie into the nearby crowd he had attracted, and all of the women drunkenly begged him to remove everything else.

He placed his hand on the top button of his shirt, the final clothing piece to be ripped away. One button was slowly undone, followed by another. It was utter torture, removing his clothes in public in the eyes of all of these hussies. Fortunately just as he was about to unbutton the blouse lower than his chest, the redheaded shinigami's piercing voice echoed throughout the streets. "Oh yes, my love, my sweet, my Sebas-chan!" He whistled, brushing his flaming bangs back with his fingers. "No need to wait another moment," he lusted with a pucker of his lips. "Let me tear off your shirt and feel the warm embrace of your body!" Grell swooped from the tops of the architecture, flaunted an impressive flip, and landed majestically on his feet. The women let out another cry of pleasure as they gawked at the two handsome men. The shinigami slowly rose to the earl's level, taking in the applause of the adoring audience. "Sorry, ladies; he's all mine!" Just as he turned to gaze into the eyes of his lover, Grell's alluring expression immediately turned into a grimace as he stared into the face of Ciel. "Hey! You're not Sebas-"

A sudden blow to the back of the shinigami's head caused him to fall out cold. A net swooped under his feet and lifted the unconscious character high in the air. Undertaker smiled widely as the women all grew silent and stared in disgust at him. Without a single word, he began to flee the scene as fast as his legs could take him. Ciel's rosy color never fled his cheeks as he sourly chased after the silver-haired madman. That was a preposterous thing to experience, and he begged to never witness nor perform such an uncivil act again.

* * *

Ciel was now dressed again in his normal clothes. His pale color finally returned to his skin as they stood in the midst of the church hall. "It'll be a pain to have to lug the heavy dolt into the Underworld, but he's a huge necessity of mine," the earl pouted as he rubbed the back of his neck. He turned his head to gaze at the resting redhead who lied peacefully on the chair isles.

Suddenly, Grell began to stir. Undertaker and Ciel jumped at the unexpected rising. Grell sat up and stroked the back of his head. His vision was blurred for the moment but it quickly returned to him in a matter of seconds. His head jerked to look at the two. The shinigami's nose began to flare. He clenched his fist and slammed his hand onto the backrest of the seat in front of him. "What the hell do you two think you're even doing?!" He shrieked, instantly rising to his feet. He strode towards Ciel who was backing away and took a strong hold of Ciel's collar. "That is certainly _not_ how you treat a lady! You have two seconds to explain everything to me! And don't even think about hitting me again!"

Undertaker's grin disappeared and he dropped the shovel in disappointment.

Ciel grabbed Grell's hands and threw them off of himself. "I need you!" The earl confessed, though he hadn't planned on it. Grell batted his eyelashes and blushed. Ciel sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not like that! I need you to come to the Underworld with me! I captured you so that you would be my guide, but you awoke before I could drag you down there."

Grell's face twisted as he slumped back into his chair. "It would have been a different question if I knew you, but I'm not going on vacation with some stranger!" He shouted. His eyes suddenly looked Ciel up and down. "No matter how sexy," his voice became almost silent like a whisper.

The earl's eyes narrowed. He had momentarily forgotten that he was an adult, and that Grell had not seen the noble's face in a matter of ten years. It was a surprise that even someone like the Undertaker had recognized his masculine features now. "It's me, Ciel Phantomhive. The end of my lifespan should have arrived years ago, but I formed a contract with Sebastian beyond your knowledge… That's why I'm a demon," he informed. His sealed eye now slowly opened itself, revealing the contract that was engraved on his cornea. "I disappeared for ten years and only returned a few months ago. Unfortunately, things haven't been so pleasant since I came back." His eyes slightly widened again, trying to portray himself as more trustworthy and compassionate. He also forced a small encouraging smile. "I need your help in guiding me around the Underworld."

Grell looked extremely astonished and dazed as he stared at the young man. "I didn't even recognize you!" He wildly laughed with his teeth grim and noticeable. He leaned his elbow on the backrest of the neighboring seat and laid his head on his hand. "You should start carrying around your eyepatch again," he teased. The earl didn't look at all amused. Grell sighed and frowned again, shutting his eyes. "As much as I'd love to help you on your little quest, I still have so much work that I need to attend to in this world!" His sarcastic tone was visible as well as in the nature of his posture.

The noble's spine tingled. If Undertaker wasn't going to join him, and if Grell wasn't going to join him, then his only choices were William or Ronald and there was no possibility of those two falling into any of his traps. Ciel gritted his teeth in frustration, but suddenly casually smiled again. He shrugged his shoulders and turned his back to Grell with his hands placed on his hips. "What a disappointment. Sebastian would have been extremely pleased to see you!"

"Ha!" Grell sneered, leaning forward in his seat. "If you need a guide so bad, then why not ask Sebastian to help you? As if I'm actually such a fool to fall into your trap!"

Ciel became baffled. He couldn't believe he was so stupid to blurt something so blatant and idiotic out. The noble swiftly turned around, constructing a new compromise; "You don't understand. Sebastian has been captured and I need you to help me find him," Ciel deceived. His chest became uneasy, wondering if the shinigami was truly dumb enough to believe these tall tales. Undertaker only snickered behind his back.

Grell stood from his chair and rushed to Ciel's chest, slightly bending down and looking up in the earl's eyes. "Why didn't you say so sooner?! Anything could be happening to my poor Sebby at the moment!" He cried. He skipped away from Ciel and spun around to look at the earl again. "Come on, brat! We don't have time to waste! We have to hurry up and save my Sebas-chan!"

Ciel nodded. He masked a straight poker face due to his silent victory and marched to the shinigami's side. He then looked back at Undertaker and flashed a quick and devious smile. A deep, thick fog began to twirl around their feet. Grell fearfully clung onto Ciel's arm as the smoke rose higher and higher above their heads, eventually engulfing their entire bodies. The young master had again successfully taken another step towards his revenge by stealing a dumbfounded shinigami. The two were now teleporting into the Underworld where Ciel would truly begin his journey to bring Sebastian's reign to an end.

* * *

**So I hadn't exactly planned for this story to be the slightest bit humorous, but hey. That's life. I also feel that I rushed the ending to this chapter too quickly. I'd greatly appreciate it if you left some sort of review or critique. Thank you!**


	3. The King of the Demons

Chapter Three: King of the Demons

The Underworld sky was just as dark as it was on the surface. It was strange not to see the flames roaring about in the distant land. The once visible mountains could no longer be seen in the black of the night. There was almost no sign of luminous light to guide them in the city of Urbem Excoquere, except for the torches that were mounted along the stone walls. Quirky demons of the night cowered on the sidelines as their apprehensive eyes looked around for possibly some sort of distant absolution that would never arrive. Others groaned and cried and hugged their children or blankly gazed from their windows. The city was much more frightening in the nighttime, but by far less dangerous than the day. At least these animals kept to themselves.

Ciel thankfully managed to appear in the city this time, rather than in the blazing hot desert. He looked back at Grell, who was spinning due to the dizziness of the trip. "Come on, we need to get moving," Ciel commanded, not even waiting for the shinigami to wake up from his daze. He began to stride through empty streets lit by the crimson burning torches and candles. The demons were awfully crude in this town as they disrespectfully glared at the well-dressed noble, but there was nothing the earl could do to stop their uncanny ways except disregard their eyes. Grell eagerly began to skip behind, struggling to keep up with the quick-paced noble. Ciel could hear the death god's glassy complaints echo in his ears, but he did his best to ignore the wails. He was in no mood to fool around with this shinigami, and definitely didn't wish to pick an argument with the imbecile.

All of a sudden, a wrinkly demon reached its hand out and took a weak hold on Grell's ankle. "Oh please, fair redhead shinigami. Please spare me a soul!" The dying creature screeched, crawling up the Grell's legs with its bottom half still lying on the cold floor. "Please, god of death! I'm starving! Spare me one meal and I will repay you!"

"Get off of me!" Grell cried, kicking the unsightly demon back onto the floor. It moaned and slid itself back to the wall. The shinigami's hair was sticking straight up on his arms. "What kind of place is this? I've never been here before," he cried, scooting away from the groaning animal on the ground as he now hid behind Ciel. "What a grotesque town. We had better get out of here quickly, or you'll have to save Bassy all by yourself." He suddenly jumped again as another famished demon slowly reached its hand out to grab at Grell's leg.

Ciel brushed the shinigami away and began to move again, attempting his best to ignore the useless complaints. No matter what happened, that redhead would cry about every little thing. However, Ciel didn't have time or patience to bicker with that idiot. His feet began to move at a quicker pace now that he was approaching a more familiar part of town. The earl was awfully close by the lady demon's home and in a matter of no time he would be able to make a fair trade of Grell's body for a free pass into Sebastian's kingdom. Unfortunately, he couldn't be sure that this demoness would stay true to her word. In case of the possibility that she didn't, at least he would now have Grell to aid himself in sneaking into the castle.

The earl soon found his feet on the road to the house. He could clearly see the edge of the two plants that sat merrily on either side of the door. Grell skipped behind and came to a halt in front of the door, concentrating on the nameplate. "Michaelis … Like, Sebastian Michaelis?" Grell's lips puckered. He licked his teeth and widened his grin. His face began to feel hot, knowing exactly what was behind that door. "Bassy!" He cooed as he thrust the door open without second thought. "My love! My darling! Reveal your beauty to me so that we may hold and kiss each other as we gaze passionately into each other's eyes!" His arms were spread wide open as he puckered his lips once more and seductively dived into the room.

The demoness that was recently hidden by the shadows of her home flew from her perch and embraced Grell's chest. "Ohhh, what a handsome and gentle hunk you are, indeed!" She fluttered, letting out childish giggles and smirks as she rubbed her face on his clothes.

Grell's face twisted into something awful. His nostrils flared as he whacked the creature off. "What the hell is this?" Grell coldly spat as he jerked his head to look back at Ciel while pointing at the creature behind himself. "This isn't Sebastian, you scoundrel! Quit playing games with me! Are we saving him or not?!"

The small woman forced herself up and out of the pile of rubble and rubbed her fragile head. "Why is it that all of you fools deem me to be this Sebastian character?!" She screeched, rising in the air again with her flapping, feathered wings. She placed her small hand on her wrinkled chin and studied the shinigami, eyeing him from head to toe. She seemed to take great pleasure in what she was observing, which made Grell feel extremely discomforted. A wide, toothless smile crossed her face as she blindly gazed at her new man-slave. "This is quite a fair trade, if I do say so myself," she purred, perching herself on the unorganized table again. "I didn't exactly score you a pass into the caste, but I found someone who will gladly escort you inside."

Ciel's eyes narrowed and he nodded. "Fair enough, then," he said with a brush of his bangs. "Where can I find this man?"

The demoness' smile widened just a little bit more. "_She_ will be standing outside the gates of the castle entrance. I am most certain that you've met with this fine young lady before…"

Ciel nodded again and shoved on Grell's backside. "You need to go with this woman for a while. I'll return to you sooner or later, but I have tasks I need to take care of." The noble turned his back on the shinigami and began to make his way for the exit, but Grell began to cling onto Ciel's backside.

"You can't possibly leave me with this hideous hag," Grell growled. His eye brows were creased into a deep anger and his scowl was dug deep into his face.

The earl jerked his shoulder from Grell's grip and began to stride out of the room. "If you want to save Sebastian, you'll have to abide by my rules," Ciel spat. He slammed the door before another word cold be let out. Now his mission was to find the gates, although he had never seen any castle gates since he entered the city. Urbem Excoquere was much larger on the inside than the outside, so finding the gates would be much more difficult than finding some woman's house. He would have liked to ask for directions, but it wasn't in his nature to ask for something he could figure out on his own. Instead of turning back, he blindly set forward in search of the castle gates.

The night crawled across the sky as Ciel made his way through the city. No matter where he trudged, demons always questioningly gazed at the earl. They all knew he wasn't one of them, and out of fear they didn't dare to test his strengths or abilities. Their shadows stretched due to the fire that danced on the torch. It seemed as if there was no end to the maze of pathways in the city. Every corner he turned, there was always a fork in the road, sometimes new and sometimes familiar. By the time he would ever reach the gate, it would probably be next week. Ciel stopped in his tracks and sighed, realizing he was hopelessly lost. The distraught noble rubbed the back of his stressed neck and wondered what direction would be wise to follow through next. There was no defined path to the castle. It would be extremely impossible to find his way through the tangled city. There had to be some sort of way he could find an easier route…

All demons had wings; at least the ones in this place. Ciel wondered if he himself also bore wings. Maybe if he pushed himself to reveal them then he could fly above the city, but even then if he produced his feathers it would be difficult to fly. However, time was of the essence. He needed to desperately reach the castle, so he decided to attempt an exposure of his wings. The earl raced into a street where no one would be able to watch or bother him as he deeply concentrated on uncovering his feathers. He thought of the birds and how each individual bone might stretch from its body, and how each feather would balance against the fierce winds. The idea of wings ripping from his skin and tearing through his clothes began to strike fear into Ciel's chest, but it was definitely too late to turn back now. The earl could feel small nubs digging out of his back. He let out a deep cry of pain when one of his wings erupted from his skin, followed by another flock of feathers. The pain was almost unbearable, but it had only lasted for a moment before the pain was gone again. His wounds had already healed and he found himself unhurt once more. The process of bearing wings was definitely odd, but he was thankful he managed to obtain them so easily.

The next challenge would be to learn to fly. His urged the bones in his wings to flap, but they wouldn't budge. It was as if they were numb and would refuse to be lifted. Ciel tightly clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, as he forced one wing to rise from the ground. To his excitement, it began to lift in the air, and soon began to move around without effort. His second wing began to follow through as well, and in no time his wings were coordinated with each other. Now it was time for the test; he began to flap his wings in unison in attempt to ascend off of the stone road. Dirt flew from his spot as he moved his feathers faster and faster. He was doing it! He was about to fly! With one last strong gust of wind, his feet lifted from the ground and he was rising from the streets. Although it was difficult to control, he began to soar high above the city, high enough that he could see tops of the towers.

The castle gate; there it was. It was far off on the other side of the city and remained unmoved along with the town square. The earl wasted no time in diving into the streets again. He soared just over the tops of the buildings, keeping a sharp eye out on the gates. He could clearly see a tall figure waiting patiently for him. Ciel hurried himself to dive to the figure. Luckily, he managed to gracefully land on his feet and easily force his wings back into his body. And to his surprise, his clothes weren't even ripped. It was as if the wings had never even existed; as if they were just a glossy figure that appeared in his aid. If anything, wings would probably be the most useful on his missions.

"You sure have changed a lot since the last I've seen you," the familiar voice called. Ciel turned his eyes to look at the figure, and there stood Hannah, locked in her demonic form. He could have sworn that she died along with Claude and Alois, but apparently it wasn't so. She was standing tall and alive right in front of him. It was as if Hannah knew Ciel was asking how, because she began to answer him; "I fled the scene as soon as I was positive Claude was dead. I had no intentions of dying, and only desired for Claude to die a peaceful death… and not alone." A soft, wistful smile flashed over her face, but quickly disappeared as reality hit her again. "So you've spoken to my grandmother, I see, and helped her out greatly. I suppose I'm in debt to you."

The earl nodded slightly, not sure how to approach the situation. Hannah took a few steps forward, and the earl immediately began to flush a deep red as her breasts rubbed up against her chest. She reached her hand forward and took a hold of his chin. "You sure have grown handsome. You strike a remarkable resemblance to your father, as well as Sebastian," she cooed, running her tongue over her lips in a seductive manner. She squeezed his cheeks and began to lean in for a kiss, but the earl immediately shoved her off by her shoulders.

"I'd like to remain loyal to my deceased fiancée!" The earl blasted, taking a few steps away from her. His face was fired with crimson. "So stay the hell off of me and keep your bosoms to yourself!"

Hannah snickered and nodded. She turned and began to make her way into the castle gates. "Anything for you, master," her tongue danced. Ciel scoffed and strode by her side so that he wouldn't have to look at her any longer.

They made their way across the stone path. Everything within the castle garden was dead; the trees, the grass, the flowers, the bushes. It was all so devastating. The grey castle stood tall and undamaged, and the red flags placed at the top waved in the calm wind that didn't even seem to blow. Grey clouds surrounded the top of the towers, and the red of the sky began to return to the ceiling of the Underworld, meaning that it was growing morning. Ciel yawned; he hadn't slept a wink the night before and would be truly weary going up against Sebastian. It would have been wise to have saved his energy for such a malicious battle, but he was so caught up in fulfilling his revenge that he didn't think of his necessities. Battling the demon would be so much more difficult without sleep, but it was far too late now. He was going to fight his butler, tired or not.

Hannah and Ciel approached two muscular guards that stood in front of the castle doors. They immediately stepped aside as the demoness approached, and the doors slowly flung open and the partners strolled inside. The interior of the castle was far more glamorous than the outside walls. There were tints of gold on the white floor and wall designs, and all the furniture that lied within the room was fine leather with a hint of gold here and there as well. White, gold, and black was the theme of the castle, and it masked beautifully for such a kingdom. Ciel lightly smirked at Sebastian's abode; it was definitely good taste for such a skilled and genius demon.

A black carpet stretched down a two-way staircase. Up those steps was where Sebastian's throne room lied; the earl could feel it. Without Hannah's consent, he began to eagerly race up the left side of the stair case. "Wait, not that side!" Hannah warned, but it was too late. Ciel had already dashed half way up the stairs, when all of a sudden the floor beneath him disappeared. He let out a terrifying scream as he began to plummet down into a pit of lava. Hannah's head peaked over the side as she watched him fall to his death.

The earl panicked. His heart was racing, practically jumping out of his chest, fearing ultimate death when he was far from ready to die. He couldn't think properly. There had to be some way out of this violent and dreadful trap. _His wings. _He had to summon them again somehow. He only had so little time left, but he still wasn't completely experienced on tackling the objective of his powers. The earl began to concentrate again on his feathers and begged for them to appear, but they didn't seem to reveal themselves. It his moment of extensive fear and panic, he couldn't force his wings to save himself. He couldn't focus on his task, for all he could think of was the excruciating burn of the lava that he was rapidly approaching. The earl tightly closed his eyes and let another horrific piercing shriek escape his lungs, realizing there was no aid coming his way. Unfortunately, the revenge he had always sought was about to slip through his fingers, and he was so close.

All of a sudden, strong yet petite arms threw themselves under the earl's body. He was being lifted into the air again. He forced his fearful eyes open once more and noticed Hannah, who had been tenderly caressing him. The earl didn't even know that she bore wings, but it apparently was so. She smiled passionately at the earl as they ascended towards the light again. "How clumsy you can be," she mocked. He couldn't even focus on her taunts, for he was severely distracted by her jiggling breasts that were pressed against his face. His nose began to bleed from the pressure they applied and the blood that filled his blushing skull.

It wasn't long before the two reappeared on the surface again, and the earl threw himself from her grasp and onto the floor. His trembling hands gripped onto the carpet as heavy breaths slipped from his lips. It was pathetic that he couldn't save himself, even after he learned how to control his wings. He just wasn't experienced enough and would need much more practice; that was if he decided to keep on living after killing Sebastian. The shivering noble turned his head to look back up at Hannah, who was crouching by his side and tenderly rubbing his back. He gazed into her compassionate eyes and sighed. "Thank you for saving me," he whispered, bringing himself to his feet again.

"You're more than welcome," she stated. With a flip of Hannah's hair, she began to stroll to the staircase on the right, the safe side. Ciel eagerly followed, not desiring to fall into another trap. He impatiently trudged up the stairs, wishing that Hannah would hurry her footsteps and make it up the path. However, he wouldn't dare pass her in case of another unfortunate event. Instead, he stuck himself right by her side, slowing making his way up the stair case. When they finally reached the large, black doors, Hannah tightly grabbed onto the narrow handle. She looked back at Ciel with familiar sorrowful eyes. "Please, stand back," she commanded, and Ciel did exactly so, moving down towards the steps again. With little effort, the demoness threw the doors open, and all of a sudden a giant spear thrust through her chest from the throne room, sending the woman crashing to the floor onto her back.

Ciel stared at her body in fear and horror as the blood drained from her body. Sebastian was absolutely malevolent, and his traps were unnecessary and absurd. There was no reason for him to perform such terrible things. "Hannah?" Ciel gasped, taking a step forward. But she remained unmoved from his calls. The earl wanted to approach her, but feared getting hit with deadly spear. He quietly approached the dead demoness, who didn't bother to stir as he drew near. "Hannah," Ciel called again, and this time her fingers twitched. The noble seemed to relax again; demons couldn't die due to such human-like weapons. He kept forgetting such details.

Hannah gagged and coughed blood as she took a hold of the spear's handle and unsheathed it from her chest. She immediately sat up and spit blood in front of herself, then forced herself onto her feet. Her eyes rose and looked into the room, staring at the demon inside with eyes of rage.

The earl became eager, now that he knew everything was safe. He rushed to Hannah's side to catch a glimpse of the demon that lied within the throne room. The walls stretched deep into the corridor, and the room was dark. A glistening throne could vaguely be seen in the depths of the chamber, and a foot was dangling off of the chair. A deep snicker echoed throughout the castle, and the heel began to swing back and forth. There, inside that room, lied the king of Urbem Excoquere; the character whom Ciel would inflict his revenge on.

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**We're already on chapter three and I'm already running out of ideas. Maybe some advice or a review or a critique would be nice? No pressure. I wonder what Ciel plans on doing once he embraces the Demon King. I guess we'll find out in the next chapter. Hazahh~**


	4. Wasted Time

Chapter Four: Wasted Time

"Sebastian Michaelis…" Ciel growled through his teeth, narrowing his eyes as he stepped into the throne room. "Or maybe I should start calling you Lucifer, the King of the Demons. You, who I've finally come to fulfill my revenge. Don't even think about running away again!" Ciel stopped and extended his arm to point at the creature sitting in its chair. "You and I are going to have a fair fight! Now show yourself!"

"... I place no knowledge on your talk of revenge." The voice spoke with a deep voice like thunder. A foot stepped onto the tile, along with another foot, revealing themselves from the shadow. The dark figure stood from its post and began to come closer. Ciel felt a strange sensation, knowing that he was about to battle his butler and renew himself. However, as the character began to appear in the light, it became known that it was not Sebastian at all, but a completely different demon; one much older with a long, dark beard. "Yes, I am Lucifer, the King of Demons, if that is who you seek. You must have traveled a difficult path to find me, but I assure you that I am no _Sebastian Michaelis_." The creature suddenly began to roar a laugh that echoed to the ceiling. He was much taller than Sebastian and far more built. Had he not been so old, he would have been quite attractive. "That pathetic demon has not turned in these streets for the past 400 years! He's weak!" The king bellowed again.

The earl stood in confusion and felt like a fool. "I don't understand," Ciel spoke softly, but loud enough so that maybe Lucifer would feel free to explain something to him. He was positive that his butler lied in these parts, but it apparently wasn't so. But where else could his butler have gone?

"So you wish to find this demon? I don't see why…" The creature gibed with a deep scowl. "He's nothing but trouble, useless, unworthy. To tangle with such a piteous demon would be a waste of time. The only thing he has is his looks, but he's just like every other demon. He only sticks around for what he wants, and then he flees. He's a coward!" He roared again, but this time with less humor dancing on his tongue. "He's weak and he's not worth your time. You should just go home and be glad you'll never see him again."

"You don't understand!" Ciel panicked, hoping the demon wouldn't leave without spilling any information first. "He's done me terribly wrong, and this is why I need place revenge on him! I don't care what kind of person he is. Just tell me of his location and I'll gladly be on my way, already!" The noble protested, now taking a few more steps closer to the dangerous figure. "He's killed my parents, my fiancée, turned everyone against me and now I'm a wanted criminal in every place I go. I have to do something to redeem myself, and since he's the bastard who took everything away from me then he's the one who must die!"

Lucifer stared intently at the boy, taking his plea into deep thought. He turned and sat back into his thrown, the shadows covering his body again. "I admire your raging passion, but why should I aid someone I don't know? You and I are not friends, nor even acquaintances. You're just a rat in my filthy Kingdom, so why should I pay any mind to you, rodent?"

Ciel fell silent. Had this been the surface, this negotiation would have gone far quicker and easier, since everyone recognized him as the Queen's Loyal Dog and highly respected him. However, he wasn't used to this sort of foul treatment in the Underworld. He was tired of having to always give something in return, but that was apparently how the Underworld rolled. If you wish to obtain something in this world, then something of the desired value must be exchanged. The earl noticed that the king's eyes were locked onto something behind him, and immediately knew what that desired value came to be. "Hannah is a highly obedient demon and will follow all of your commands without complaint or questions. She will perform the action without trouble. She is yours, if you like," Ciel negotiated, lightly smirking.

Hannah's expression became more sorrowful and disgusted now that she knew where this was going, but she had always been loyal to the handsome earl since he was only a child. Alois' heart was strong for Ciel, so Hannah's heart would be strong for the noble as well. No matter the order, she would obediently follow through.

Lucifer masked a wide grin across his cheeks, bearing every single last bit of his teeth. "This sounds like a reasonable exchange," he snickered, beckoning her to come closer with his hand.

As she passed by the earl, she stopped by him only for a second, whispering in his ear; "Please take care of my grandmother."

She reluctantly placed herself on the arm of Lucifer's throne. Thankfully, she couldn't see his face in the black of the shadow. Lucifer nodded as he perversely gazed at her youthful and tight body, staring at her leather boots, trailing up to her meaty thighs, wallowing up to her stomach, her succulent breasts, her puckered lips, her dancing eyes, and trailing down again by her braid. He then turned to pleasingly look at Ciel once more, gratified by his new gift. "Tenebris Province is where that wretch of a demon lies. He won't be hard to find. That slum will most likely be begging on the side of the road somewhere."

Ciel nodded and thanked him, and turned to leave again, but Lucifer called him back; "Wait. Be careful when you go over there. Despite the fact that you played your cards right, I'm still able to tell that you were once human. Stay on your toes or else those beasts will most likely give you a hard time," the demon warned. He pulled something from his coat and chucked it at the noble, who gracefully caught it. "A demon blade, so that in case any of them gives you trouble you can stick this right through their flesh. It will be bound to kill any demon." He suddenly snickered, "except for me." A deep bellow of laughter spread through the castle, and Ciel made his exit without turning back.

* * *

Ciel made his way back to Grell's location. If he was going to travel a vast range of land, it would be necessary to bring someone who would be able to carry his things, or at least give him company. He strolled through the streets until he arrived at the familiar door again with the two plants. He then gently knocked on the door, but decided it was a waste and instead he invited himself in. "Get off of me," Grell had cried as he moved his face away. He was tightly strapped to a chair, most likely so that he wouldn't flee. The disturbing elder demon was standing on his lap and rubbing her hideous wrinkled face on the shinigami's chest. "For the last time, I'm not a man! I'm a delicate lady!"

"Demon," Ciel interrupted.

The small woman lifted her head and eyelids to look at him. She widely smiled at him. "Did you find everything that you were looking for?" She purred, fluttering her wings so that she rose off of Grell's legs. "My gift has pleased me, thank you."

The earl's eyebrows creased into frustration. "Actually, I didn't find what I was looking for. In fact, that wasn't the demon I was searching. You sent me to Lucifer, and I can see where the mistake was made, but I was looking for Sebastian. Unfortunately, you've failed me," the noble spat. He stepped closer to the old fool and took out his handgun, aiming it right at the hag.

The demon concentrated on the weapon, and then her furious eyes looked up at Ciel. "You know weapons like that don't work on creatures like me. That would be a waste of your bullet. Go ahead. Shoot me," she suddenly sneered, flying right in front of the weapon.

Grell's eyes widened as he looked from the earl to the creature. Ciel's eyes narrowed. In an instant, he pulled the trigger and sent the little wretch flying backwards into the opposite wall. Her head had exploded in blood and was now nothing but a giant red mess. Her limp body lied on the pile of rubble in the corner. However, not to his surprise, she began to rise, her skull forming back into its place and the blood trailing back into her body. Grell stared in horror at the morbid scene. Her head was completely intact again. The small demon was now enraged as she gazed up at the earl. "You imbecile! Do you not know what my Hannah will do to you if you decide to kill me?!" The woman screeched.

Now the earl took out the demon blade, coming to the complete conclusion that the other weapon was completely useless. He then thrust the knife into her skull before she could fly away again, testing the knife's abilities. This time she didn't move. Lucifer was right; this thing truly would kill a demon.

Grell gazed at them in confusion. "What the hell was that, Ciel? Was that even necessary? You couldn't just untie me? That wasn't even much of a fight! You didn't even give her a chance! What was the point in killing her?" Grell kept baffling at the situation, unable to fully comprehend what he just witnessed.

Ciel cut the rope and let him free. "I was only taking care of something, but you're free now so quit complaining," he growled, instantly exiting the room without the death god's consent. "Come on!" He called back, "I know where Sebastian lies and we have to get to him as soon as possible!" He didn't even wait for Grell to follow behind; he was already racing down the streets, running through paths and alleys and roads. Now he was absolutely positive of Sebastian's location and had no intentions of fooling around. He was heading straight for the city of Tenebris Provence where that butler would remain for the rest of his demised days.

* * *

**My apologies for such a short chapter! So I didn't really have anything planned for this part at all. I just felt that it had to be done or something. I would have liked to have expanded on it, but I felt that I was running out of time. Instead, I'm putting what would have been the contents of this chapter into the next chapter. Haha I feel more that the title of this chapter reflected on my actual situation. Ah well. Hopefully the story will be much more exciting later, and not all bunched up like this chapter.**


	5. Difficult Travels

Chapter Five: Difficult Travels

"I'm sooo tired of walking! Can't we take a break?!" Grell exclaimed as he heavily drug his feet across the dry sand of the desert.

"Don't you ever stay quiet?" Ciel contemptibly snorted. "We haven't been moving long and you're already babying! If we keep moving then we'll arrive to the location sooner. Stay silent and move your feet."

The beating bright, yellow sun sluggishly rolled across the orange sky. Not a cloud was in the air and not a tree was available anywhere. There was no place for shade or no location to sit down except the blazing hot ground, which they both refused to sit since they could already feel the heat seeping through their shoes. They would have to make haste into the next city if they didn't want the soles of their shoes melted off. Unfortunately, they had no idea how long that would absolutely take them; it might be all day and it might be two weeks and it might be three months and it might be four years and it might be the rest of their lives.

Ciel played with his wings, attempting to summon them like he had before. However, his memory didn't seem to serve him correctly of how his feathers had appeared the first time. He had apparently forgotten the rules or tactics of summoning them, and now he was forced to trudge on the hot desert sand with his feet like a peasant. Had he been in his world, he would have gladly come along a carriage so that he wouldn't have to suffer. But he wasn't on the surface, now was he? No, he was in the Underworld lost in the middle of the desert searching for a cowardly and well-hidden demon who had ruined the earl's entire life. Sometimes Ciel had to remind himself of his hardships to encourage him to keep moving forward. Yet they only seemed more to make him angry than eager.

"You wouldn't happen to have anything to eat on you, wouldn't you Ciel?" Grell complained again, rubbing his gurgling stomach. He puckered his lips and pouted as his belly wouldn't seem to quiet down. "I can't hardly remember the last time I've eaten a good meal. I sure could go for a salad- or even some sort of pastry, despite the diet I've been trying so hard to keep up with for my figure." His face suddenly flushed and he ran his tongue across his teeth. "I've been trying to hold my form for incase I reunited with that hunk, Sebas-san."

Ciel rolled his eyes so obvious that the shinigami made a grunt of annoyance. The earl started to speed in his steps to move away from the animal. All he desired was some peace and quiet and to be as far away as possibly from that she-male. He would have liked to have abandoned the creature, but he unfortunately needed him just in the case that he became weak and needed the shinigami's aid. The noble always had to stay prepared in terrible times like those, no matter what the obnoxious consequence was.

"Grell, if you're so hungry why don't you just eat the dirt?!"

"Hmm…" Grell's emerald eyes danced at the sand, studying its grainy texture and tan color. It didn't look at all sustainable and he was most certainly not about to shove his face in it. He rubbed his chin. "That's perfectly fine. I suppose I'll find some other meal in the meantime. For now," he sighed, "I'll just starve."

The earl scowled. "Then shut up, will you?" His stomach suddenly growled, completely unexpected. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until Grell made his constant complaints. However, the noble wasn't about to join the rant to the shinigami's favor; that would only encourage the idiotic fool to continue rambling. Instead, he only remained silent and let his stomach do the talking.

Red footprints were left in the dirt behind them. Gentle wind lightly bled some of the grains away that began to stick to their clothes. Ciel threw his coat over his head to protect himself from the scorching sun.

Grell, on the other hand, simply waved his hand about in his face to cool himself off. His breaths were becoming heavy and unattractive sweat started to trickle down his face much to his dislike. He quickly wiped away the disgusting beads with his sleeve and took another deep breath in, trying to rid his mind of the nasty bits of water stained on his sleeve. Grell lifted his hair into a ponytail and held it there so that he could cool off the back of his neck. "Oh, Ciel. I'm so unbearably hot. I think I might die out here!" He whined, letting his hair fall again. His hand started to wave faster in front of his face, but his manmade breeze did nothing for him.

"Take your coat and throw it over your head or that sun will be sure to bake your brains," Ciel commanded, half-paying mind to Grell's folly talk. "I'm already walking around with a buffoon; I don't need you more brain dead than you already are."

"That's insulting!" Grell squeaked. However, he listened to the noble and obeyed his orders, gradually removing his red coat and tying it around his forehead. To his bad luck, the coat wouldn't stay and continuously fell from his head, slowly swooping back down onto the desert. The shinigami huffed and snatched his coat from the floor once more. "Ciel, will you tie this for me already?! This thing just won't stay on my head! I know I must be doing something wrong if I can't tie a simple not."

Ciel lightly chuckled. "You might already be going brain dead." He stopped and turned to face Grell. His hands lifted and took hold of the coat, then tightly secured it around the shinigami's forehead while the fool's face flushed a deep red. "That should do it," Ciel reassured, admiring his work.

The redhead's eyelashes fluttered as he flaunted a bashful grin. "Why, thank you, earl. You did a wonderful job," he purred. The noble went to turn away, but Grell grew anxious and stopped him. "Wait, it feels a little tight!"

"Tight? But you just said I did a wonderful job. What the hell is wrong with it?!"

"…"

"Tch." Ciel loosened the knot only slightly, and the coat immediately began to slide down the man's face. "See? I told you it was just fine and you didn't believe me. Now I have to redo it," Ciel pouted, taking the coat away again. He threw it over Grell's head a second time and knotted it. "Alright, this should be good. And I'm not doing it over again, either!"

"You don't need to. I'm fine with it the way it is." Grell cooed with a wink. He suddenly began to move his face in closer; as if for a kiss.

"What the hell?!" Ciel gasped, rapidly moving away before the repulsive event could take place. "Keep your manly lips away from me! I have no desires to kiss anyone other than my beloved fiancée, especially a man!" The earl spun around to walk away without another word.

Grell's eyes creased into anger. He was all offended, enraged and jealous at the same time, and he wasn't quite sure what to say to the crude remarks. "I'm clearly a woman, as I've stated many times before. You would think that everyone would see that by now, considering my girlish figure and my feminine facial features," Grell growled. He stomped his feet as he now marched to keep up with Ciel. "I don't even see why you're so concerned with your fiancée anymore. This death god already knows that squealing brat died a while ago."

Ciel's eyes narrowed and his pupils constricted. The noble turned on his heel and he firmly grasped Grell's collar. "You shut the hell up! Don't call her a brat! You have no damned right to speak of her that way!" All of a sudden to Ciel's surprise, Grell reared his hand back and brought it forward to the earl's face, leaving a deep stinging stain on his cheek. Ciel stumbled backwards and lightly touched his face, still taking in what had just happened; not fully comprehending that he had just been slapped. His furious eyes looked from his hand up to Grell.

Grell formed a deep scowl. "Don't you dare touch a lady like that."

The two stood in silence as they glared at each other, wondering what the next move would be or what following sentence would take place. Neither one of them desired to speak a word to each other nor did they wish to even look at their face. At that moment, all they wanted to do was tear the other limb from limb. They were both entirely fed up with each other. Maybe it was due to the burning sun that was driving them mad, or maybe they were just full of hatred for the other in the first place and didn't want to be together from the start. However, they knew that if they were going to survive in that desert then they would need each other. So instead of arguing, they silently agreed to make travel to the city again.

* * *

The two walked together in silence for hours. Occasionally, Ciel attempted to make his wings appear again but failed miserably every single time. Every now and then some sort of hideous monster would emerge from the distance, and Grell would rev up his chain saw and easily frighten the monster away. They would have liked to capture it and eat the thing, but every monster was far too fast for them to catch. It was probably for the better, anyway; they weren't sure what that thing was made of or where it came from. It was probably filled with all sorts of uncanny poisons. Unfortunately, they would just have to wait until they reached the next town if they wanted food- that was if the city even offered human food to begin with, which was highly unlikely now that they thought about it.

Night was beginning to fall, and they would have to stop and rest in order to regain their energy. They wouldn't even be able to travel at night, considering the blackness of the night was so… black. Ciel stopped in his tracks. "We don't have any firewood?" He complained, his eyes narrowing. He grunted and fell into a sitting position, hugging his legs to his knees. "That's alright, I suppose. It couldn't possibly get cold at night in the Underworld."

But he was so wrong. Grell and Ciel cuddled up next to each other much to the earl's dislike. However, he had no intentions of dying so he would eagerly snuggle up to the idiotic shinigami. "Ohhh, you're so warm for a demon, although you _are_ half," Grell commented, squeezing up and under Ciel's manly arms. He stuck his hands in his pockets for warmth, but suddenly felt something that startled him. "Hey, what's this?" He asked himself, suddenly pulling out a box. "Eh… matches?!" His eyes lightened up with joy and he quickly pulled from Ciel's grip and showed him. "Look! Matches! We can build a fire to keep ourselves warm!"

Ciel's eye twitched in confusion in anger. "Out of what?" He baffled, knowing there was nothing that could be done with the useless box of wood.

"Our clothes, of course," Grell exclaimed, already lighting up one of the matches. "Although, I don't plan on lighting any of my clothes on fire. You'll have to be the volunteer." He threw the match on Ciel's clothes, and the noble instantly sprung to his feet to put it out.

"You, dolt! You could have set me on fire and then I'd burn to a crisp and you'd be left out here all alone! Do you even think?!" He screamed, suddenly kicking Grell in the nose.

The shinigami's head went backwards slammed onto the floor. He then suddenly came back up, his nose dripping with blood. "What else am I supposed to do? I'm freezing out here. Do you honestly expect me to burn a perfectly good piece of my wardrobe?" Grell growled. He suddenly shivered and rubbed his arms to keep him warm. "Augh, Ciel. I'm so cold I can't feel my fingers. I'll donate my coat if you donate yours. Sound fair?"

Ciel studied the shinigami. No, that was not fair. Grell would be sacrificing the only thing Ciel would remember his aunt by; Madam Red's coat. To burn that would mean to burn whatever memories he had left of the poor, wicked soul. However, his spine tingled and his skin crawled as if the temperature was constantly dropping, as if someone stuck him in a bathtub filled with ice. Despite the wonderful nostalgia the coat had always brought, Ciel didn't want to freeze to death. A shivered and icy sigh slipped his lips as he began to remove his coat, Grell doing the same as well. They threw their coats before them and a flaming match was thrown on top. In a matter of minutes, their clothing was consumed by warm flames, and all Ciel could do was watch in silent horror as his precious Aunt's coat did nothing but disappear.

Ciel and Grell were now crouched next to each other again. This time, there was no need to cuddle or snuggle for warmth. They were perfectly fine just touching shoulders; that was the closest they needed to be to each other. Ciel could feel himself growing weary, and he suddenly let out a deep yawn. "Grell, we need our rest," Ciel mumbled. "It would be wise if we took shifts so that way in case any monsters showed up, we could warn each other." There was no answer. "Grell?" Ciel turned to look at Grell, who was already fast asleep. The earl sighed, realizing he was already taking the first shift. "Then so be it; I'll wake you up when your shift arrives," the earl pointlessly informed.

The night seemed to drag on. There were neither stars nor a moon to light up the dull sky. Everything was engulfed in a sea of darkness from the ground which they sat to the depths of the night sky. Ciel could hardly see into the distance. His sight seemed to stretch a little bit farther past the light of the fire, but that was it. It would be devastating if a monster snuck up on him and he didn't see it. He would have to keep an extra eye out in case a deadly creature erupted from the distant blackness. However, Ciel could already feel himself slipping in sleep. He bowed his head a little, and his eyes suddenly opened again and he immediately woke up. He couldn't let himself fall asleep. He had to let Grell take over, or he would be sure to nod off.

"Hey. Hey, wake up," Ciel huffed, his shoe kicking against Grell's shoe. That shinigami's limbs were comfortably sprawled across the desert floor, drool surrounding his face. "Wake up, you slob!" Ciel shouted, kicking the stable Grell again. It was no use; there was no way that creature was about to wake up. All of a sudden, a loud, vicious roar echoed deep into the sky. Ciel began to rise in panic. "Grell, wake up, you buffoon!" Ciel shrieked, punching the redhead in the back. That sure woke him up.

"What do you want?!" Grell pouted, shooting up into a sitting position and rubbing his back. The earl didn't even have to answer. The roar echoed again, and the shinigami came to his feet in an instant. "Gee, I swear. I have to do everything around here!" He winced, his knees trembling. Out in the distance, a small beast began to appear. The beast seemed to grow enormous in size, growing larger and larger until it finally towered over Grell by twice his height. The shinigami fell into a fighting stance as he stared up at the beast. "You're messing with my beauty sleep!" The redhead grouched.

The beast swung at him with his arm, which Grell dodged and swung his chainsaw at and shredded its arm off. It fell to the ground with a thud and began to experience a seizure-like movement, finally falling still after what seemed like minutes. The monster shrieked and hopped from one spot to another, trying to whack at Grell with its intact arm. But it was no use; Grell was far too fast and too skilled to ever get smacked by such an idiotic creature. He started to rev up his chainsaw once more and cut off the monster's other arm in a few moments. It flopped about as well and fell still, and the monster let out cries of excruciating pain before running off again.

Grell threw a hand over his yawn and plopped by the fire again. "I'm going back to sleep, kiddo," Grell informed. He looked over at Ciel and his eyes immediately turned into a look of rage. "Hey, you're supposed to be staying awake so I can get my beauty sleep!" But even his obnoxious complaints didn't wake up the earl. Grell sighed, decided to brush it off. His stomach growled, which distracted himself from his sleep. His eyes reverted back to the arms. Despite their hideous appearance, his stomach was grumbling louder and louder, which meant it was time for a good meal.

His hand was hesitant when reaching out for one of the monster's arms. Whatever could this thing possibly have been made out of? He brought it to his face and sniffed it, but it seemed to have no smell. His tongue escaped his mouth and slowly went forward and licked the arm of its enemy. It was far too cold for his taste and would have to be preheated before being devoured. The shinigami stuck the arm over the fire and waited for the meal to become crispy. He wasn't sure how long it would take; the arm was already black, so he wouldn't be able to tell when it became cooked. He looked at the flesh inside of the arm and waited for it to become a darker color, but it didn't change either. Grell was growing impatient. He was hungry, and that arm was never going to cook. Without a second thought, the redhead stuck the arm inside his mouth and ripped off a large chuck of flesh.

His face grimaced. He wasn't entirely sure what he just put inside his mouth. That had to be the absolute foulest tasting substance his tongue had ever touched in his life. Grell immediately spat out the ill-flavored chuck of meat into the fire, and a wash of black smoke lifted into the air. Grell scowled at the smoke, wondering what he could have possibly just eaten to make such a terrible gust. "Earl, I think it's your shift," Grell pouted, although he was far too tired to wake him up. Instead, he let out a heavy yawn and stretch and fell right onto the desert floor next to Ciel. He was going to get his beauty sleep, and no one was going to wake him up- not even Ciel.

* * *

Light began to emit from the sky that woke up the sleep couple. Ciel sat up first and rubbed his weary eye. He then jumped at the sight of Grell in front of him. "What are you going?! It was supposed to be your shift last!"

Grell pouted. "_You_ were the one who fell asleep when I was left in a dangerous battle," Grell huffed, rising to his feet. His eyes suddenly widened at the scenery behind Ciel. "Look, earl! It's a castle. Is this where you wanted to go?"

Ciel stood up and turned to look at the giant castle. His eyes narrowed. "There's only one way to find out." The noble began to stride forward, with Grell following close behind. If this was the correct castle, then Sebastian Michaelis was right inside. The earl was coming that much closer to fulfilling his revenge.

* * *

**Sorry that this took so long to get out. I just haven't been motivated at all to write this. Hopefully I won't take so long for the other chapters. Meh~**


	6. What a Fool

Chapter Six: What a Fool

Grell and Ciel entered through what were possibly the towering stone gates of Tenebris Prouidentia. As soon as they stepped inside, everything appeared to grow extremely dark. Thankfully, there were lanterns on the side of the walls here and there but it wasn't much to guide them. King Lucifer definitely wasn't exaggerating when referring to this place as the "Dark Province." It was unfathomable as to why everything was so black, but those were just the ways of the Underworld; unfathomable. It always seemed as if everything was backwards. But what was to truly be expected of such a wicked place?

From the corner of his eye, Ciel noticed a small demon dash into the shadows. The more his eyes moved and adjusted to the dark, the more he could see vicious and absolutely unsightly demons back away into the darkness. Now he realized why everything lacked light; everyone was hideous. What would Sebastian be doing in a place like this? He was the utmost handsome of demons he earl had ever seen, so why hide here? Ciel audaciously began to stride forward into the dark streets, being careful to stay near to the lights. He didn't want anything jumping at him, especially at a point to where he couldn't see. Grell trailed closely behind, practically rubbing against the noble's back. He too was just as worried as his partner.

There was a sudden yelp, and Ciel stumbled to the side after realizing he had accidentally stepped on something. A sudden fleshy hand, connected to an unbearably long arm, slid slowly back into the shadows. A disturbing hissing sound erupted from the darkness, the same location where the arm disappeared to. Ciel had no intentions of sticking around to see what would appear; he decided to keep on moving. However, Grell let out a sudden shriek and pulled on the lever that started up his chainsaw. Ciel turned around and saw two enormous arms emerge from the shadows, swinging at Grell. They immediately reared back with no desire of being hit by such a deadly weapon that the shinigami wielded.

Grell's heart beat rapidly with fear by the sight of the fiendish arms. Their wicked appearance struck the shinigami odd, and he wished to be as far away from those things as possible. His eyes suddenly darted to one arm that came rapidly for him, and he swung his chainsaw towards it in defense. All of a sudden, the other arm quickly swooped Grell from under his feet, and he came crashing down on his back on the stone floor. It was a set up- a distraction! The shinigami didn't have time to get back up; an arm slammed down on the poor death god's stomach. The other arm took a hold of the chainsaw and threw it far into the distance by Ciel's feet. The fiend then grabbed Grell's leg and lifted him high in the air. Grell looked down at Ciel in sheer terror. "Don't just stand there," the death god screamed. "Do something!"

Ciel's spine shivered. He was never the fighting type and was by no means prepared to battle whatever that nefarious thing was. Although he greatly craved to ditch the redhead right then and there, he needed him in case something like that attacked the earl later on. Ciel dashed for one of the lanterns on the wall and snatched it. He then hastily raced back to the enemy and threw the lantern down on the floor. The flame immediately went out.

Grell looked at Ciel like he was a complete imbecile. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"It was supposed to light everything on fire! I'm terrible under pressure!" Ciel panicked.

"You need oil for something like that!"

"I'm not an idiot!" Ciel raged. He went back to the wall for another lantern, ditching the defenseless shinigami again.

Grell's eyes watched in fear, searching for the beast in the shadows. Maybe if he saw its head, he could attack it and the enemy would drop him. Unfortunately, his plan wasn't going to happen. The demon violently slammed the shinigami into the side of the wall and then tossed him onto the floor. The hands balled themselves up into a fist. Grell's eyes widened, realizing what was about to happen. The fists came swooping down at a speedy pace, but that death god quickly rolled out of the way. He staggered to get up and grabbed at his chainsaw once more, but a hand snatched him before he could even reach his weapon. It now had him around the ribs like a snake curling around its prey; it was crushing him. Grell let out a cry of pain and struggled to get free.

This time instead of throwing the lantern onto the ground like a dolt, Ciel decided to wait patiently. He was going to aim for one of the demon's arms. Ciel's eyes narrowed as he watched the arms sway to and fro, back and forth, side to side, up and down. As soon as the arms crossed each other, Ciel chucked the lantern forward in a ray of hope. To his luck, the glass instantly shattered on the arms, slicing and cutting them. The flames then poured from the lantern and raced up the enemy's arms, lighting the beast on fire. It let out a piercing shriek, and the fire allowed everyone to see its unutterably horrid face. It looked as if it were melted away by some sort of acid. Before Ciel could get a closer look at the thing, it disappeared deep into the shadows.

Grell fell from the air and slammed head-first onto the hard stone. Ciel panicked and instantly rushed to the limp shinigami's side. "Grell?!" The noble cried as he turned him over onto his back and lifted his head, studying the unconscious character's face. "Grell, are you alright?" Ciel winced, unsure of what to do or how to wake him. Grell fluttered his eyelashes and coughed. He then forced himself up to his feet without the aid of the earl. Ciel watched Grell limp to his chainsaw, pick it up and brush it off. That was all. He was fine.

The noble and shinigami's breaths were heavy as they pondered what they had just faced. That was most certainly one of the most sick and wicked creatures they had ever laid eyes on and wished to never see anything like that again. The earl let out a shivered sigh and walked up to the shinigami. Despite how much he detested him, they needed each other and it became very apparent at that moment. He gave the redhead a comforting pat on the back and smiled at him, following with a nervous chuckle. Grell scowled for a second, but couldn't help but join in on the laughter. They didn't know what was so funny; they were horrified.

The two continued down the street as if nothing happened, paying mind to stick much closer to the lights than before. Grell even made it a habit to cling onto the back of Ciel's clothes, which greatly irritated the earl who hated to be touched. They also walked at a much faster pace, not wanting to dally around the terrifying beasts.

The silence crept up on Grell like an itch that highly bothered him. He felt it was necessary to hold a conversation. "I have a headache," he winced, breaking the silence.

Ciel stopped and turned to look back at Grell. He unexpectedly lifted the shinigami's bangs and revealed a massive bump on his head. "I'm not surprised," Ciel snickered. He turned around again and began to stride forward once more.

Grell frowned. Some conversation. He started off again following the earl closely behind. "Where do you even plan on going?" He suddenly asked. "Your only clue is that the demon resides somewhere in this hell of a town, but it's too dark to even see where he is! You don't even know where he lies."

Ciel sighed an irked breath. All of this was true, but the earl didn't want to admit that he had no idea where he was going. He had only hoped to find the demon walking about somewhere in the town. Ciel suddenly stopped again, and Grell bumped into the back of him. "It's true," Ciel whispered, "but as long as I have a lead, there will be no stopping me from searching for him. Maybe it's idiotic to continue without further direction, but as long as I know he abides somewhere here, I'll be bound to find him."

Grell stared at the noble from behind. He squinted his eyes and puckered his lips. "I think I'll head up to higher ground and get a good look from there. Maybe I'll spot Bassy from up there," Grell suggested, running up the side of the wall before a protest could be made.

"It's too dark to see anywhere, especially from up there!" Ciel uselessly screamed, completely vexed by Grell's ignorance. Ciel pouted and placed his hands on his hips, having to patiently wait for the shinigami to return. Now he was forced to stand still, or his partner would be sure to lose him. Not to mention, he was more likely to get attacked alone. At least if they were together, they could help each other defend from demons, and especially waste less time and keep moving. He couldn't just throw his time away by standing around.

There was a sudden noise behind him, like the movement of quick wind. Ciel spun around on his heel, half-expecting to see a demon claw at him. However, nothing was there. Another movement was heard behind him, and the noble quickly turned to see what was there. Nothing. His eyes narrowed. Something was stalking him, but what was it? And where? Ciel thought about taking out his demon knife in case something attacked, so that way he could defend himself.

He was just about to reach for his weapon when something came up behind him and quickly took a hold of him. Whatever it was, it threw its hand over the earl's eyes and held something sharp up to his throat. This was it. He was going to die. The noble heard the figure snicker. "Fancy meeting you here, young master."

Ciel gritted his teeth. Sebastian Michaelis. Although he was thankful that it wasn't a crazed demon, he was devastated to know that Sebastian was right there behind him. How he so would have loved to turn around and rip that demon's eyes out. Unfortunately to his disadvantage, the demon could have easily right then and there spread the noble's blood on the street. It would have been quite the opposite of wise to make a move at that moment. Ciel wondered if he should reply to the demon, but he was in no mood to converse with his nemesis.

"It's going to take much more than a shinigami and a knife if you wish to succeed in fulfilling your revenge," Sebastian whispered, his smile increasing in width. "I would be extremely careful if I were a weakling like you. In fact, I would just go home and take my chances with the mortals. You're no match for a vigorous demon like me. " He suddenly let go of the earl and dispersed into the shadows again, dropping the weapon onto the ground.

"So that's it? You're just going to run off again? You're not even going to bother killing me?" Ciel growled, turning around in hopes of seeing the demon appear once more. But he didn't. That bastard of a demon was nowhere to be found. Ciel clenched his fists. Sebastian had only showed up for a moment to spare his life and mock him for his lack of strength. It was absolutely humiliating. He would have almost rather had Sebastian slice his throat. The earl noticed the weapon that Sebastian dropped on the floor. He paced towards it and picked it up. It was nothing but a stick! The noble screamed and threw it as far off as he could into the darkness, not giving a care as to where it fell.

Grell suddenly swooped in from the top of the darkness, his chainsaw starting up again. "What's wrong? What happened? Where's the monster?" Grell panicked, darting his eyes every which way ready to strike.

Ciel sighed and ignored the ignorant fool. He covered his face with his hands, running them through his bangs. He then went over to the wall and slid down it by his back. The distraught noble brought his knees to his chest and buried his head in his arms. He was completely disquieted from the recent encounter with his butler. The earl was so close to Sebastian, and now the demon knew the earl was looking for him, which would make it far more difficult to catch him. He didn't have any idea where that butler would run off to next, or if he would even stay in the same town. It would be nearly impossible to catch Sebastian by that point.

Grell could clearly sense something was wrong by the obvious despondent nature portrayed by the earl. The curious shinigami slid down the wall next to the noble and looked at him. "Hey there, high noble. What seems to be the matter?"

The earl mumbled something that the shinigami couldn't hear.

Grell looked at him inquisitively. He scooted closer to the earl. "What was that?"

The earl mumbled something a little louder, but it still wasn't clear.

Grell sighed and leaned back on the wall, giving up. There wasn't a point in conversing if the earl had no desire to speak. Instead, he sat in silence with his partner, patiently waiting for him to say something. However, there was no possible way that the shinigami could ever keep silent. In order to save himself, he started up a new conversation. "It sure is dark out here. I wonder why it's daylight outside of the castle but nighttime in here. Or is it really nighttime? I'm not sure." Grell went on with the conversation, more so speaking to himself, not even stopping for a breath.

Ciel tried to endure it, but he just couldn't sit still with that buffoon ranting on about nothing. He lifted his head and looked at the idiot. "Will you stop talking?" Ciel asked, and the shinigami instantly quieted. The earl lied his head back on the stone wall and looked up at the darkness. He only wished to remain in the silence, but if he didn't say anything then the death god would only start pointlessly babbling again. "While you were gone- while you left me alone, that demon returned."

"The old woman?"

"No…" Ciel whispered. "Sebastian."

Grell immediately shot up and glared down at the earl. He clenched his fists and stomped his feet in the most childish manner. "He showed up while I was gone and you didn't even tell me?!" Grell screeched, echoing far into the air. "That's my man you saw! Why didn't you make him stay?! I've been dying to see him! Where is he?!" The shinigami suddenly stopped in the midst of his rage, as if coming to the realization of something. "I thought you said he was trapped somewhere, and that we were going off to save him." He crossed his arms and took a step back. "What was he doing here? What's going on?"

The noble forced himself up, but kept his eyes locked on the ground. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to reveal his plan to the shinigami, but he couldn't keep it a secret forever. However, if he admitted to wanting to slay Sebastian, that redhead would be entirely displeased and would possibly kill the earl in Sebastian's defense. Ciel's spine shivered, but it was a risk that he had to take. "Sebastian has never been in any sort of trouble. If anything, I am."

Grell started at him intently, slightly tilting his head.

"That demon has done me wrong so many times. The entire time while he was assisting me, I was searching for the one I thought who killed my parents. However, it was Sebastian who I was seeking revenge. He led me to believe that I was on the right track, but the murderer was right beside me. After I gave up my soul to become a demon, Sebastian became greatly enraged; he felt deceived, as if _I_ had done something wrong. Tch. And then he ripped the soul from my fiancée and turned all of Europe against me. He's made a fool of me- took away all of my dignity." The earl suddenly turned his malicious eyes to look up at Grell. "I have to kill Sebastian."

Grell twitched. "You can't kill him!" The shinigami cried. He sped towards the earl and shoved him against the wall by his collar. "If you dare hurt him, I'll make sure you face hell!"

"And I'm willing to take that risk!" Ciel shouted, taking a tight hold on Grell's wrists in attempt to free himself, but he was far too weak. "Grell, you're not going to stop me! You're going to help me with this task. You owe me! I saved your life!"

Grell stared at the frenzied noble. He took a step back and released the earl. Grell creased his eyebrows into anger and scowled. That Ciel definitely had a point. As much as it pained him to know that Ciel would try to harm Sebastian, he wanted to know whether or not he would truly accomplish his revenge. Grell nodded, suddenly flaunting his wicked teeth in a dastardly grin. "I'll help you find the demon, but when the time comes I'll only stand and watch."

Ciel refused to look away from the shinigami. He only nodded, secretly grateful that the shinigami would at least help him locate the demon. The earl took a deep breath and whipped his hair from his eyes. "Let's get moving, then. I don't want the demon to get too far awa- Hey! What are you doing?!"

Grell was steadily fixing Ciel's collar that he just recently crumpled. He smiled and took a step back, admiring his work. "I'm sorry about messing up your noble look," Grell cooed as if nothing had happened between the two. "I think I fixed it up well."

The earl sighed. He spun around and started to make his way through the dark city again, not wanting to have anything else to do with that idiotic shinigami.

* * *

**I wanted to incorporate some sort of romance into this chapter, but auuuugh. I'm just not the romantic type. Hopefully I'll get something going in the next chapter ... Or the chapter after that.**


	7. Dominance

Chapter Seven: Dominance

Now lost without any guidance or idea of Sebastian's new location, Ciel and Grell blindly made their way out of the dark city and reentered the desert again in hopes of finding a new and safer city to abide in. Where else could they possibly go to? They had no sign or light of where the demon of deception might be. He could be anywhere, which includes both the Underworld and the Surface. It was now going to be a nearly impossible search for that one hell of a butler. A lot of traveling and research would be enforced if they desired to unearth the location of Sebastian again. Or maybe if they were lucky, he'd appear to the couple once more, but thinking like that was far too hopeful and highly unlikely. It was best to just keep traveling and researching.

In a dreadful matter of hours, Ciel and Grell arrived to another kingdom. This one was far nicer than the other two they had visited, although still not as nice as the Surface. It was much like the back streets of London, where all of the Indians hid themselves; except here they were replaced by demons. These demons were much more polite and much more kind than the others they had encountered. They even dressed nice, but noticing their clothing was pointless.

So what were the two doing there? They had no idea. There was absolutely no point in coming to that city. Maybe in a ray of hope to find Sebastian, but even then the odds seemed rough. Maybe they were just exploring, trying to remove all of the horrific thoughts from their minds. They had experienced so many awful things in a matter of a day, so it would be best for them to clear their thoughts before searching again. Their eyes trailed the depths of the city, observing its clean and human-like attributes. Ciel had already taken a great liking to this town, having only stepped in it for a few minutes. It was much like his home in London, and instead of everyone treating him like dirt since he had last left it, these people treated him like another person. It was comforting.

However, the two soon came to the conclusion that it would be a waste of time wandering these areas, so they quickly retreated to the desert and traversed to the next town, hoping to spot Sebastian there. It was the same as the last town; nice but a waste of time. They continued this process for a matter of days, blindly searching for even a glimpse of that demon. It seemed hopeless to keep searching for him without a lead. He wasn't going to turn up again anytime soon. Ciel's feet became slower and slower as time drug on. He became less and less hopeful and grew more and more tired. In a matter of time, he was already thinking about giving up.

* * *

A month had passed since the beginning of their search. Grell and Ciel had been staying inside the City of Aurum, probably one of the most clean and safest cities to stand in. They had done nothing but research inside that place, constantly asking for the whereabouts of Sebastian's location or if they had last seen him anywhere. Numerous travelers came by into the town, but many were clueless as to where the demon was. It was definitely far more difficult to find him, considering Sebastian wasn't his real name. They only had one clue of where he was, and that was referring back to Lucifer, the King of Urbem Excoquere, and they had already visited that place long ago.

Ciel flopped down on one of the street's benches and drug his fingers through his tangled hair. "This is impossible. We're never going to find him," Ciel sighed, cursing under his breath.

Grell took seat next to him and frowned at the earl. "You're just not trying hard enough."

Ciel's eyebrow twitched. He didn't bother to retort the shinigami's folly comment. Instead, he sighed and looked up at the common crimson sky. How the color was so similar to Sebastian's eyes. Although he vowed to bring forth revenge on the wicked demon, it neared an impossibility to ever run into him again. The earl was worn out from wandering and researching day and night. He only wished that everything would end as soon as possible, but it would most likely be years before anything was even handled. Ciel sighed as he closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair. A good nap seemed necessary at that time.

"Hey! This is no time for sleeping! We're on a search, you little twerp!" Grell suddenly growled, springing to his feet and clenching his fists. But his protest went unheard, for the earl didn't move a muscle. Grell pouted and flopped back down next to Ciel. What use was yelling if that brat wasn't going to pay attention? Grell stared at the noble. He wasn't a brat anymore; he was all grown up. He was a handsome young man now. He had already realized that a long while ago, but staring at the noble now with the sunset-like sky beaming on his face masked him beautifully.

Grell could feel himself blushing, but why was he? He had never taken a liking to the earl who always insulted the shinigami. Besides, he had practically watched the child grow into an adult, which made things just weird. He couldn't possibly be falling in love with the noble. Love. Would he call it love? They had spent so much time together and were easily becoming close to each other, or at least Grell was coming close to Ciel. Maybe the earl didn't feel the same way. Well, there was only one way to find out.

Grell slid over with slight confidence as he rested his head on Ciel's shoulder. The earl scoffed and wriggled his shoulder. "Get off of me, imbecile. I'm not one to cuddle with a man," the earl commonly insulted.

The redhead pouted and shot back up again, crossing his arms and throwing one leg over the other. "I shouldn't have to bother telling you over and over again! I'm a lady, thank you!"

Ciel scooted away from the crazed shinigami. He didn't even bother to open his eyes or continue the argument with the obnoxious redhead. He only wished for peace and silence.

Grell, being naturally stubborn, decided to try his luck again at cuddling up to the earl. He scooted closer to Ciel once more and lied his head down on the earl's shoulder. Ciel didn't bother moving this time. He only huffed in annoyance. It seemed as if he was far too tired to do anything about it. Grell snickered, realizing he was winning. He lifted his head again and stared at the earl. Maybe… just maybe… he could sneak in a kiss. The shinigami moved in closer to Ciel's lips, placing an eager hand on the earl's leg.

That definitely woke him up. Ciel immediately shot up from his seat and staggered back, wiping away the imaginative germs placed on his thigh. "What the hell are you doing, you pervert? Can't you see I'm not into things like that!" The earl screamed as he backed away.

Grell whipped his hair and stood up, walking towards the earl. "Ohhh, come on, Ciel! Couldn't you at least give me a chance?" He cooed with a wink.

Ciel scowled in disgust and turned on his heel to walk away from that immature creature. "I don't have time for this. Let's begin our search again."

"Wait!" Grell cried, falling to his stomach and clinging onto Ciel's ankle. "Please, can we at least talk about this?! We've been getting so close to each other and I think I might have feelings for you! And I feel that maybe you have feelings for me but you're too shy to express them!" Grell continued to babble nonsense about their so-called unrequited love, making a big scene.

Ciel rolled his eyes and shook the childish shinigami off of his leg with difficulty. "You can suck off of Sebastian's face when we find him. I already told you, the only one for me is my fiancée, and she's dead," Ciel coldly reminded, walking away from the idiotic redhead again. He was growing extremely wearisome of Grell's futile comments and games. That shinigami would cease to ever comprehend the earl's reasoning. He never enjoyed the redhead's company and he never would, but it was clear that Grell failed to understand that.

Grell pouted and stood up, brushing himself off. "I'll get to you somehow or another," Grell huffed, soon skipping up to Ciel's side. "So where do you suppose we're going next?" He asked the earl.

Ciel thought for a moment, but honestly had no clue where else to go. He was all out of ideas and conclusions, but he most certainly wasn't about to give up. "We'll have to leave and make our way to the next city," Ciel offered. Something suddenly slipped in front of his feet, and he tripped and came crashing down onto the hard stone road. He immediately rolled onto his back to look up at the snickering Grell. "Was that necessary?! Were you even listening to me?!"

Grell fell to his knees on top of Ciel, now pinning the earl down. "I want a kiss, and what I want, I'll have."

Ciel struggled against Grell's grip, but the shinigami was far too strong for a mere half-demon. "I won't have this! People are staring," Ciel loudly whispered, extremely flustered by the situation. "If you're going to do this, can you at least do it somewhere else?!"

Grell shook his head and grinned. "If I let you go, you'll just run away again," Grell teased with a bat of his eyelashes. "Now hold still. This sooner you comply, the quicker I'll let you go." He leaned in closer to Ciel's face, who remained unmoved. It seemed as if the earl was finally going to abide by Grell's rules. The shinigami's lips were nearly against Ciel's when all of a sudden something bashed the redhead in the side of the head and knocked him across the street. He slid quite a distance before slowing to a stop. The furious shinigami immediately sat up, a large footprint on the side of his face. "Who dares to kick me?!" Grell screamed, but his anger immediately died down at the unexpected sight.

Sebastian firmly planted his heel back onto the ground. He was completely clothed in his demon attire. The demon brushed his bangs behind his ears and scowled at the worthless shinigami. "I don't like you touching the young master like that," he scolded.

Ciel stared up at the demon, who was standing over him. The earl was entirely confused as to why the demon would come to his rescue over something so idiotic, but nonetheless he was grateful. The earl scooted back a little ways before standing up. He stared at the ferocious demon from behind, wondering why he was here. "Sebastian," Ciel called to the butler. The demon turned around and flaunted that snicker he so familiarly held, waiting to hear whatever the earl had to say. However, Ciel was stuck. He couldn't find any words to speak. Now that he was standing face to face with the demon, he couldn't think of anything to say or what to do.

The demon turned to the noble, completely disregarding Grell's cries. He walked up to the earl with a rising hand and lifted the earl's chin to look up at him. He then leaned in closer and lightly brushed his lips against Ciel's, although not quite coming into a kiss. "I don't like people touching you, young master," the demon repeated, his hot breath falling against Ciel's skin. He then moved closer, this time passionately locking his lips with the earl.

Ciel's eyes widened, along with Grell's. A few of the bystanders awed and gasped and commented, wondering what was possibly going on. The demon moved away from the earl and emerged his wings. In an instant, he shot up into the air and flew away before anyone could stop him. The wind of the wings whipped everyone's hair and clothes around. Ciel stared up at the fleeing Sebastian with mouth agape, trying to make sense of the situation.

Grell growled and then screamed, kicking his arms and legs on the stone road. "I can't believe you just let him kiss you! Ohhh, this is so unfair!" He cried, falling onto his back again.

Ciel looked down at the ground. For Sebastian to suddenly kiss him like that was completely unexpected of the demon. He couldn't comprehend why the demon would do something like that, and why at a time like this. Why hadn't he come earlier, or confessed years and years ago? Could it have been because he was too young, and he was waiting for him to mature? Or maybe it was that he just recently ended up falling in love with the earl. And that was probably why he murdered Elizabeth, because he couldn't stand the thought of them being together. Was that it? Or was that kiss all just a ploy to distract Ciel from his revenge?

He suddenly woke; he could feel everyone staring at him. The earl's face became slightly tinted with a rosy color. He quickly rushed to the shinigami and took a tight hold of his long hair, then proceeded in dragging him out of the city. It was about time they left that dreaded city. These watchers were making him feel uncomfortable.

He dragged Grell right to the entrance of the gate and threw the shinigami onto the dirt. He then roughly kicked the redhead in the side of the head. "Why the hell didn't you do anything?! You just sat there! He could have done anything to me," Ciel shrieked clenching his fists.

"Is that such a bad thing?" Grell winced, rubbing the large bump sticking out of his skull. He forced himself up to his feet and brushed himself off. "I said I'd help you find him but I wouldn't do a harmful thing to that hunk of a man! If you want to kill him so badly, then you'll have to do it yourself! And it looks to me that you just wasted that chance!"

Ciel's breaths became shivered. It was so true. He was given the opportunity to stab that creep right in the back, but he chose not to. Instead, he stood there being washed away in a useless kiss, the kiss he had always saved for Elizabeth. Sebastian had taken away his fiancée's life, and a kiss was most certainly not going to make up for it. Besides, the demon had also killed the earl's parents. As if throwing away his revenge had even crossed his mind. He was absolutely set on killing that demon, no matter what.

No matter if that demon was toying with him or whether he was truly in love.

The earl had no time for romance.

Ciel growled and turned away, pacing out into the desert. He didn't want to stand around any longer. That demon had made a fool of him so many more times than he could ever count, so he was definitely going to commit his revenge now. He didn't even care whether the shinigami cared to follow or not. In fact, he didn't want that at all. He wanted the redhead to stay behind and start off on his own mission. The earl only wished to finish his quest alone.

However, Grell didn't know of Ciel's desires, so he only followed like he always had. He didn't know where else to go, so he strolled right behind the earl. Ciel suddenly stopped and turned around to look at the imbecile. "Go home," the noble commanded. "I'm no longer in need of your services. I'll find and kill him off by myself."

Grell suddenly stopped as well, utterly surprised by Ciel's sudden desires. "You won't last a minute by yourself," Grell insulted, although those weren't his intentions. "You need me to protect you."

Ciel huffed. "I don't need anyone! I can take care of myself!"

Grell's eyebrows creased into bitter understanding. It was obvious that the earl was confused after what had just happened; bringing forth revenge against someone under odd circumstances. Grell whipped his hair behind his shoulder and placed a sassy hand on his hip. "I know you're struggling right now, but no need to push me away. I'm the last friend you have."

"Tch. You're not my friend; only my acquaintance," the noble spat, turning away from him and moving forward again. "I told you to get out of here. You can go home back to your warm bed. Leave, already!"

Grell only followed, staying at a distance in case the earl swung at him. He refused to leave the distressed earl alone. Oddly enough, Grell fell in love with the earl and wanted to protect him. It hurt to know that Ciel didn't love him back, and Sebastian never returned his love either, but Grell had his eyes set on this feeble boy. Although the shinigami had always desired to be the small and weak character that a man would protect, he was set on being the dominant one in this relationship with the earl. What made the redhead think that way was beyond his comprehension, but he didn't care; he was in love. And by his own self-discovery, he came to the conclusion that he knew exactly what was wrong with Ciel. "You're in love, earl," Grell cooed, widely grinning at the romance.

Ciel's heart stopped. That was clearly not the case. "I'm on a mission to kill that bastard who murdered my family and turned everyone against me! What makes you think I'm in love with a demon who ruined my life?!" He suddenly stopped and turned to look at Grell again. The noble looked wild and furious, but his expression suddenly changed to something that of sorrow.

Grell wasn't exactly sure how to perceive this. He walked forward to the distraught character and threw his arms around the noble's neck, bringing him into a hug. Ciel sighed and only stood there, having to put up with the shinigami's sympathetic nature. After few moments, the shinigami patted the troubled earl on the shoulder and smiled at him. "We'll get through this together, okay? You don't need to do this on your own. I'm here for you," Grell assured.

Ciel looked up at Grell with his eyes. It made him feel extremely uncomfortable that this once rivaled shinigami was being so nice to him, but he couldn't complain; at least Grell wasn't trying to suck his face off. "Let's get going," the earl said with a sigh. He pulled away from Grell's hand grip and started to stride off into the desert again. He had to find that demon.

* * *

**I'm not much of a yaoi fan and I'm not really good at romance either, so I hope this chapter turned out well. I definitely won't go any farther than kissing, considering I'm not really into all of that hardcore intercourse stuff. Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate it!**


	8. What Hope is Left?

Chapter Eight: What Hope is Left?

Ciel and Grell continued to walk the desert, tracing up one of its tall hills. The obnoxious redhead refused to stop talking no matter how much Ciel scolded him for it. He craved for even a minute of silence, but that shinigami was in no mood to please the earl. Lately, they hadn't been getting along. Ciel had been acting different since his last encounter with Sebastian. He became far more irritated with any little problem. Grell, on the other hand, remained the same as he had always been; relaxed and annoying. They couldn't help their actions or who they were. It was just a part of their nature and the outcome of the last event with that demon.

"So where are we heading this time?" Grell asked with the utmost curiosity.

"The last time you asked me that question you forced me down and threw yourself on top of me," Ciel grunted, skipping ahead quite a bit to avoid another embrace. "I have no idea where we're heading anyway. I'm only hoping Sebastian decides to reveal himself again."

Grell fluttered his eyelashes and curled his lips into a smile. "If you want him to show up again, you're going to have to make him jealous. How about a smooch, earl?" Grell taunted, puckering his lips and moving closer to the noble.

Ciel groaned and shoved Grell's face away from his, not wishing to be near that shinigami at all. "I'm not getting anywhere close to you like that again. That was mortifying!" Ciel pouted, pacing ahead again. He suddenly stopped in the midst of his tracks, looking out into the desert. Grell bumped into the earl's back and looked over the noble's shoulder. "Shh," Ciel whispered, keeping his eyes locked on the view.

There, out in the slope of the hills, lied a group of savage-looking demons. They all sat around a fire despite the heat of the day and bellowed in laughter. On their backs were fur and wool coats of some unknown creatures. These characters were large and had long, black hair that was either winded into braids or pony tails or hung tangled across their shoulders. They looked completely threatening.

Ciel and Grell stood at the top of the hill of sand, looking down at the beasts. They wished to get nowhere near those savage creatures. "Let's turn around," Ciel suggested, immediately turning on his heel.

Grell nodded and turned as well, but when he did so his foot suddenly slipped from underneath him. His eyes widened and his pupils shrunk in utter fear. He grabbed at the back of Ciel's collar, dragging him down with him. Everything seemed to fall into slow motion as they floated amidst the air, slowly but surely falling backwards. Then time took its place again. Their backs hit the dirt and they began to tumble down the hill at a rapid pace. Sand flew every which way as they rolled down the hill, bumping into each other and bouncing about the ground. Shrieks fled from their lungs, lifting high into the air. The savages looked up at the two, curious as to what was coming their way. They remained unmoved as the two rolled before them, coming to an immediate stop on their faces. The beasts curiously stared at the couple, completely irked that these strangers dared to barge into their territory.

Grell was the first to lift his face. He spit sand from his mouth and then shyly looked up at the large men. The shinigami offered a friendly smile and a wave of his fingers. "We're so sorry for coming into your home like this. We seemed to have slipped! Please forgive us. We'll be out of here in a matter of seconds!" Grell spoke in a mouthful, a trickle of sweat running down his head.

Ciel also forced himself up on his hands and knees and looked at the group. His eyes instantly locked with an extremely large man who widely grinned. Ciel's eyebrows creased into anger, doing his best to look threatening despite the embarrassing fall. The earl picked himself up from the dirt and brushed himself off. "We'll be leaving, then," Ciel informed, already turning back to the slope of the hill. Grell frenetically stood up and clung to Ciel's side.

"You two won't be goin' nowhere," one of the demons chuckled. Ciel and Grell didn't stop, however. This angered the demon. "I said … You two won't be goin' nowhere!" He stood up and raced for the intruders.

Grell turned and flaunted his chainsaw in front of his face. "Don't you dare touch me," Grell spat, leaping away from the towering demon. He swung the chainsaw at the enemy and managed to slice through one of his hands. Grell didn't even bother to see how injured the demon was. The redhead was already racing back up the mountain as fast as his legs could take him.

Ciel also ran up the hill but he wasn't as near as fast as Grell considering he was only a half-demon. The earl's leg was suddenly snatched by an enormous hand and he fell face flat onto the dirt. Whoever had a hold of him was now dragging him back down into the pit. Ciel rose in panic. He grabbed his demon blade from his pocket and turned around and stabbed the hand that took him. The hand let go and the earl was free again. He began to climb up the hill, not daring to turn back. However, more hands grabbed at his legs and pulled him down. He turned to stab them again but they forcefully grabbed his arm and tossed the weapon from his grip.

"Grell, help me!" Ciel exclaimed as they took a tighter hold on him. But Grell was nowhere to be seen. That traitor had fled without any regrets. The earl cursed through his teeth as the savages drug him back to the pit, laughing and bellowing. How horrific.

They tossed him before them and hollered another laugh. "What's a prissy boy like you doin' out in a dangerous desert like this?!" One of them sneered, placing his hands on his hips.

The earl didn't answer. He stood up for a second time and brushed himself off once more, refusing to speak to the troublesome group. One of them became annoyed by the earl's actions. A fist was brought forward right into the noble's face, sending him straight into the sand again on his back. A heavy foot was placed on his chest, forcing him to stay down this time. Ciel wiped blood off of his nose and looked up at the demon. The creature blocked the sun with his enormous body.

Some of the savages hooted and hollered and clapped their hands whether or not they understood what was happening. The man with the foot on Ciel's chest began to speak. "I am Terrorem, the leader of this pack. I am well known across the land for my lack of reasoning, and I want you to know that you will not be getting out of this place." Terrorem leaned in closer to the earl's face and flaunted his rotten teeth. His breath was terrible. "So get used to it, prissy boy."

The crowd roared in laughter once more, throwing their heads back or stomping their feet. Ciel narrowed his eyes. It hadn't even neared five minutes and he was already highly annoyed by these characters' fowl nature. They had no respect for anyone or anything and were possibly the most disgusting creatures he had ever laid eyes on. They looked as if they hadn't showered in weeks, not to mention the smell that lifted in the air. Their attire was filthy and their hair and beards were covered in dirt. Although they had spent most of their time under the scorching sun, their skin was far more pale than Sebastian's. They looked as if they were dying, or might as well have already been dead, except for the fact that they were huge in muscle. They must have been well-fed. It was expected from such large demons; their strength and agility probably did them well out in the desert when scavenging for food.

"Well? Do you have anything to say?" Terrorem spoke, digging his boot deeper into Ciel's chest.

Ciel winced from the crushing, struggling to breathe. "I don't think it's necessary to keep me here. What do you need me for? You might as well just let me go!"

Terrorem looked over his left shoulder, then over his right, then back down at the earl. "You have terrible reasoning. What is your point?"

"My point is…" Ciel gasped, the boot lifting off of him slightly. "… I just so happened to stumble across your territory. It was an accident. It's going to be a waste of time keeping me around. You'll have to drag me wherever you go and feed me so that I don't die. It's going to be a lot of work taking care of me for your own content."

The group looked confused. Terrorem lifted his boot off of Ciel and planted it firmly on the ground again. "What makes you think we are keeping you as prisoner? Can you not see that we are starving?!" Terrorem yelled, pointing back at his men. "We are demons! We need to eat! And seeing that there obviously are not any human souls around, we are just going to eat you." He suddenly turned to his men and lifted his arms. "Hey! How about that? Tonight! We will rip off his skin and dig into his organs like beasts!"

Ciel stared at him in disbelief. Since when was it common for demons to physically consume? The earl always thought it was the laws of nature for a demon to consume a human soul in order to survive, not eat someone's flesh. He couldn't fathom their reasoning, but it was no use explaining anything to them anyway. Like Terrorem said, they were unreasonable, so he would just have to deal with the conflict. Two demons lifted the earl to his feet by his arms and dragged him away to the far corner of the camp. There, they tossed him into a filthy steel cage and slammed it shut, locking the bars with a chain.

Ciel watched them walk away, completely enraged that something as dreadful as this was happening to him. Where was Sebastian now? He "claimed" that he didn't like anyone touching him, so he should have come to his aid by now. But he didn't. If the demon loved him so much then where was he? Ciel groaned and leaned against the bars of the cage, giving up. Sebastian had abandoned him and Grell was most certainly not returning for him either. Ciel wouldn't even be able to free himself. It was hopeless. There was nothing left to do but to die.

Grell paced back and forth, utterly distressed by the situation. If he went back down there he was surely to either be captured or die. But he had to save the earl somehow or another! They were partners and partners were supposed to stick together. The shinigami peeked his head over the hill for probably the 10th time and looked down at the crowd. Ciel was still locked in that cage. He was just sitting there. He had remained in that position all day. The shinigami wondered if the earl was alright. Of course he wasn't! He was trapped inside a cage with no hope of getting out. Grell sighed and returned to his side of the mountain. How was he to possibly save the earl?

Grell looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, baking the desert in gold. _Dusk_, Grell thought, _I'll sneak in when the sun falls and I'll snatch Ciel away while they're sleeping_. The shinigami crouched down into the sand and leaned back on the dirt. He supposed he'd have to wait a while for the sun to fall. Two, maybe three hours. Grell lifted his hand over his eyes to block the light of the sun.

* * *

Night fell. A large burning fire was built in the center of the camp, much larger than the fire from during the day time. Deep, black smoke lifted high into the air, although it couldn't be seen due to the darkness of the sky. Everyone talked and laughed as they prepared for their meal that was to happen in a matter of an hour. Some fixed up the fire while others prepared some other bits of meat, skinning the wicked dead monsters. The scene was quite horrific, a group of large savages getting together to consume a poor and innocent person. But again, they were savages. They didn't care who the character said him to be or what the reasoning was; they were starving and they were going to eat whatever they laid eyes on.

Two of the fearsome demons unlocked the cage in which the earl lied and swung the door open. They reached inside and grabbed Ciel's arms and brought him outside, lifting him to his feet with ease. They then drug him to their leader, proposing on what to do next. Terrorem looked the noble up and down, contemplating on how he would be served.

Ciel hung his head low, not bothering to look up. There was no use in struggling anymore. He was far too weak to handle these beasts, especially by himself. He was no match for them. He couldn't even fly off if he desired to; his wings refused to sprout any longer beyond his comprehension. He didn't even have his knife to fight anymore. Sebastian wasn't coming for him. Grell wasn't coming for him. It was no use. Ciel was going to die whether he liked it or not, whether he put up a fight or not, whether he reasoned or not. Living his life was all a waste just to end up dying in a violent feast. Ciel didn't care to live or die, anyway. He had nothing else to live for.

Grell silently watched in fear from his perch. This wasn't a part of the plan at all. They were all supposed to be sleeping right now so that the shinigami could sneak down into the camp and save the earl from a terrible fate. But that wasn't so. Unfortunately, they were all awake. Wide awake. They were preparing a large fire to cook and burn something in. Grell wasn't completely ignorant; he was sharp enough to know that it was Ciel who they were going to consume. The shinigami whimpered and whimpered in thought. He wished he was brave enough to dive into the camp and save the innocent noble. Now Ciel Phantomhive was going to die, and the redhead couldn't do anything so save him. That entire month of traveling with Ciel was a waste of time. The shinigami should've just stayed home and continued reaping souls.

Terrorem gazed up at the burning fire in awe. It was far too large to roast the prisoner in, but it was a wonderful sight to look at. His eyes trailed back to the earl. He was sitting quietly in the sand, his head hung low as if he had given up all hope. Terrorem cocked an eyebrow and widely grinned. He walked over to the earl and stood above him, staring down at the noble. "Hey, prissy boy," he chuckled.

Ciel didn't look up at him, much less acknowledge the demon.

Terrorem lifted his boot high in the air and fiercely kicked the noble into the dirt. The demon bellowed a laugh as he placed his hands on his hips. "You are so pathetic!" He mocked leaning over the hopeless noble. "I am so bored, prissy boy. I have a proposal, so listen up."

Ciel lifted himself back up into a sitting position so he wouldn't have to strain to hear.

"You can either easily give yourself up to death or you can fight for your life. If you can beat one of my men in a battle, then I will gladly let you go. I will even give you your knife back. But if you lose to him, then you will most ultimately die. Does that sound fair?" Terrorem offered, speaking right into the earl's earl.

Ciel's eyes lit up. He suddenly turned his head to look at the demon in disbelief. Ciel? Against one of his sturdy savages? It would be nearly impossible to win, but maybe he had a chance if it was only against one demon. Maybe it wasn't too late for him. Maybe he still had hope; a chance to live. This was his redemption for himself. No matter what, he had to win this battle. He had to save himself, if anything. After all, he still had his revenge to fulfill. Ciel forced himself up in a ray of hope, disregarding all of the thoughts and decisions he had made before. He was determined to free himself now.

Terrorem laughed and took a step back. "Good, my boy! This is more like it," he shouted, now looking back at the crowd. "How about it? A fight! Some entertainment?!" He bellowed, and everyone laughed and whistled in agreement.

Grell's eyes narrowed as he strained to hear what they were saying. He couldn't hear anything up from where he was. He watched one of the demons hand the earl a knife and walk away. Ciel was now standing by the fire in front of a massive, towering demon. That thing was absolutely frightening. From the looks of it, it seemed as if the earl was going to fight that wicked beast. There was no possible way Ciel could win. That thing was three times the size of the delicate being.

The earl's heart dropped as he stared up at the threatening demon. Did he even stand a chance against such a gruesome beast like this? His muscles were twice the size of Ciel's entire body. The earl was sure to be pounded by this horrific monster. The earl might as well have just attempted to run away, but those other demons were sure to drag him back down. Ciel took a step away from the beast and gripped tightly onto his knife. He only begged that he would live to see another day.

Terrorem stood in between them as if he was what saved the earl from getting squashed. He looked over at the earl, then at the towering beast and smiled. "I don't want to see any of you cheating, alright? Especially you, prissy boy. If you run, we'll chase you down and tear you to shreds!" He informed, his grin increasing in width. "Alright … You two may begin!" He yelled, dashing out of their way.

The large beast took a heavy step forward. Ciel could feel the vibrations of the earth as the demon continued to move towards him. The earl immediately began to regret his decision in fighting this impossible creature. There was no absolute way he could win against something like this. As the beast neared closer, the earl backed away in fear. He gripped onto the handle of the knife with all his might. The blade was held in front of him, although it would be useless against such a malicious beast. Ciel suddenly tripped under his feet onto his back. He hadn't been paying attention to his footing. What a klutz!

The demon balled his fists and lifted them high into the air, then brought them crashing down towards the noble. Ciel gasped and rolled out of the way. He rapidly stood on his feet again and cut at the beast's hand. How foolish. His knife had dug into the enemy like a papercut. His weapon would be no use to him. Ciel dashed behind the beast as the demon constantly slammed his fists onto the ground in attempt to squish the earl, but the noble was too fast. He moved from side to side, easily dodging the enemy's attacks. Nonetheless, Ciel was still entirely fearful of that demon.

Grell watched in fear as his lover fought for his life, exerting all of his energy on jumping around. The redhead knew he had to do something, but what could he do? Even the skilled shinigami was no match for such a threating monster like that. It would be suicide to jump down there. But the poor, defenseless earl. Ciel had already saved his life, so it was only fair that Grell returned the favor. However, he was petrified. His body wouldn't move for the love of him. What was he to do? All he could do was watch the earl jump back and forth in his potential fate.

Ciel was growing tired of running around, dodging the enemy's attacks. He was becoming slower as time went on. The earl couldn't keep up with the beast. Ciel's breaths became heavy and his legs grew extremely sore. How long had he been in this battle? All of a sudden, the beast unexpectedly swung his fist sideways. Ciel didn't have time to move. He was suddenly whacked right into the crowd who pushed him back onto the battlefield. Ciel stumbled onto the dirt, almost falling over. That had surely knocked the wind out of him and set him into a light daze. Everything became extremely blurry after such an attack.

Grell gasped. Ciel had been hit and didn't look like he was going to last much longer. The shinigami stood up. It was time to take action. The noble was sure to die without his help.

Ciel could see the fist coming for him again. The earl didn't even have time to think before the solid fist punched him once more. This time, he was thrown much farther. His body slammed against the hill, dust and sand flying every which way. That was it for the noble who had worked to stay alive for so long. He forced his eyes open. He could feel blood pouring from his skull; a life threatening wound. Ciel was sure to die at that moment. His breaths became lighter and lighter. His entire body pulsed with pain. His vision was dying on him; everything was beginning to grow entirely dark. The last thing he could see was a blurred, dark figure standing above him. He didn't have time to make out what it was or who it could have been. The noble fainted.

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**I didn't like working on this story too much at first, but now it's growing on me. This wouldn't be a fanfiction I would normally read. However, the more I get into it the more I like it. But. I think if someone else had written this, I wouldn't have read it. It's just not my type of fiction.**


	9. To the Rescue

Chapter Nine: To the Rescue

Grell skid to a stop at the bottom of the slope. He stared at the crowd in wonder. Their eyes were all fearfully locked on the same person. What could they have been looking at? Grell's heart raced in agony. Was he too late? Had the beast possibly already gotten to Ciel? The shinigami was careful not to be seen by the crowd, making his way behind the group to get a better look at the spectacle. Grell's emerald eyes suddenly widened as wide as the crowd's. There, standing over the limp Ciel, stood Sebastian Michaelis in a stance that portrayed nothing but bravery.

Sebastian's eyes were narrowed. His looked completely infuriated. He tightly clenched his fists, practically digging his claws into the palm of his hands. The demon looked so noble standing there, yet he masked an entire deadly threat while staring at the vicious crowd. "You've all made a very grave mistake," Sebastian hissed through his teeth.

Terrorem moved forward from the group, glaring profoundly at the demon. "Ahhh, so we meet again, demon. Here to steal something else from me, are ya?" The demon growled and stomped one foot, refusing to remove his gaze from the enemy. "Every time we gather something up, you feel that you have to take it. Do you remember what happened the last time you tried to steal from us? You were so mangled that you could hardly stand. _You _are the one who made a grave mistake to come all this way."

The Phantomhive butler remained silent, only staring at the fat hog. He wanted nothing more to do with these dreadful beasts. "To steal something is by far different than taking back what's mine. This, the thing you were about to consume without my content, is mine. I don't plan on letting you harm him any longer."

Terrorem suddenly bellowed a laugh. "You are an idiot if you think you are going to get away from stealing my meal! I will make sure to strike you dead this time. You will regret ever coming back to a place where you are not wanted." He looked back at the crowd behind him. "Alright, scoundrels. Rip this fiend apart!"

But none of them moved. They were entirely horrified by the gruesome demon. Even if they had almost defeated him the last time, Sebastian had wiped out nearly half of their entire population. It would be foolish to try to battle this demon with the rest of their small group. Some of the savages murmured while others shook their heads and backed away. They were not near enough as strong as Sebastian, despite their large number. Not even the large group of them left could defeat the legendary demon. They valued their lives far greater than they did rescuing one of their meals. They would rather starve.

Sebastian slyly snickered. "As I thought. Your people are far too weak to even stand a chance against me. Let me walk off with my possession and I won't lay a hand on a single creature here. Does that sound fair?"

Grell watched in awe. He was far from comprehending the situation. If Sebastian had nearly died with the last encounter, then why wasn't the clan attacking again, knowing Sebastian was weak? They should have been fearless. Sebastian should have been worried for his own life. Grell wished he knew of their mysterious past. Maybe if he could slice through the leader, then he could learn a thing or two about them, not to mention that he would save Ciel. It would be risky, however. The shinigami clung onto his chainsaw and inched forward, but he was suddenly discovered by Sebastian.

"I'll tell you what, Terrorem. I'll make you a trade," Sebastian whistled, locking his eyes on the shinigami. "Give me my desired item and I'll give you the fair redhead." His arm lifted to point behind the crowd. Everyone turned to look at the shinigami. "I've never tried a death god before, but I'm certain their taste is like nothing you've ever tried."

Grell's eye twitched. "Hey! We're supposed to be on the same team!" Grell growled, childishly stomping his feet on the sand.

Terrorem observed the shinigami as he ran his fingers through his beard. "I remember that creature coming in our territory earlier. Is he yours?"

Sebastian's smile widened as he slightly nodded his head. "He's all yours, if you like. I have no use for him. He's only a drag on my tail."

Grell's eyebrows creased into utter frustration. He lifted his chainsaw and pulled on the string, starting his weapon up. Its roaring blades echoed into the deep sky as the shinigami slashed it through one of the nearby demons. "I only came to save your stupid master, and this is what I get?" Grell groaned, moving through the crowd towards Sebastian. "I never get any appreciation. No matter what I do for you, you always have to put me down!" He suddenly swung his chainsaw again and it sliced through another standing demon. "I'm so sick and tired of you treating me like dirt and I'm through loving you! I love Ciel now! I'm leaving this wretched place and I'm taking Ciel with me!" He suddenly stopped in front of Sebastian and shoved the weapon only inches away from the demon's nose.

Sebastian only stared at Grell. He was insulted that such a being of weak stature would even dare challenge him to such a battle. His fierce gaze trailed Grell as he moved around the demon, still holding his chainsaw up at the demon. The shinigami then leaned down to grab at Ciel's collar, but before he could even touch his clothing, Sebastian spun around and threw his foot forward and kicked the shinigami right under the chin, sending the imbecile flying back into the sand. He watched the shinigami bounce off of the hard slope and roll down a ways.

The group behind them shivered in fear at Sebastian's undeniable strength. It was suicide to challenge his to a fight. They wondered whether to run or stay and watch. If they stayed, more of them might accidentally get beaten or hit in the process, yet if they ran then Sebastian might steal everything away from them again. Both of them were risky choices. Some of them chose to flee and others chose to observe the battle. Terrorem most certainly chose to watch, keeping the large beast behind him in case anything went wrong.

Grell sat up and cracked his neck. He was drenched in sand, but that didn't bother him at the least. Grell stood up and shook his hair, releasing the dirt out of it. He then started to rev up his chainsaw once more. This was it. The battle had begun.

Grell jolted into a speedy run, sand flying every which way behind himself. He raced right for Sebastian. Just as he was about to slice through the demon, he dodged out of the way. Grell continued to jump for Sebastian, waving his chainsaw around, jumping on the heads of demons. However, Sebastian just managed to stay out of his reach the entire way. Grell suddenly stumbled on someone's head and crashed face first onto the dirt. He lifted his head and stood up again, but he couldn't see the demon anywhere.

Suddenly, some of the demons started to grab at him. "Hey, let go! You're not in this!" Grell cried, but they wouldn't let go. They were hungry and they were promised this shinigami as their new meal. From the looks of it, Grell wasn't going to win and was far less dangerous than Sebastian. They clawed and ripped at his clothes. Grell quickly became fed up with their actions and swung his chainsaw through the bunch. They all immediately collapsed to the floor and stained the sand with their blood.

Someone abruptly took a hold of Grell's long hair and pulled him down. It was Sebastian who was staring over him. The demon began to tug on the shinigami, turning around and around, spinning the redhead high in the air. After gaining momentum, Sebastian released the shinigami straight towards the fire. The flames waved wildly about as Grell entered the scorching fire. He shrieked in pain as he scrambled to get out, rolling along the firewood. However, he couldn't see or make his way through.

Sebastian dashed into the fire. Being a demon and resident of the Underworld he was already used to the flames. The demon grabbed onto Grell's burning collar and punched at his jaw, making the imbecile scream in pain once more. Sebastian then lifted Grell up into the air by his collar and threw the shinigami out of the flames. The throw was so fast that the wind blew away the small flares left on his clothes. Grell scrambled to get up to his feet but he was too dazed to even think properly on how to stand. He kept falling to his feet motion after motion. There was no point in saving Ciel anymore; he valued his own life.

Sebastian strolled out of the fire and approached the pathetic shinigami. He kicked him onto his back and placed his foot on his chest. There was dust all over his body but there wasn't a burn on him. The demon should have left him in there longer. "You don't deserve to be with my master," Sebastian spat, whipping his hair from his eyes.

Grell glared up at the demon, completely furious that he had gone through so much pain and embarrassment. "I don't want that putrid brat anyway! He's worthless! He doesn't love me or you or anyone! I hope the two of you burn together."

Sebastian's pupils constricted. He lifted his foot off of the shinigami's chest. All of a sudden, the demon swiftly came down on top of Grell and shot his hand right into his chest. "Take it back! Take it all back! Don't you dare talk about the young master that way!"

Grell gasped for air, one of his lungs punctured by a claw. His hands suddenly searched for his chainsaw, but it was nowhere near him. He couldn't think properly whatsoever. All that Grell could do at that moment was die by the hands of Sebastian. His vision was quickly going blurry and he could feel his skin crawling. His chest was tightening with pain. Grell felt as if he was about to explode. What a terrible end in such a hideous world.

Sebastian dug his hands at Grell's chest, ripping away at his insides. He was flustered that Grell would say such things. Ciel was nowhere near being a putrid brat; Sebastian had watched him most of his life and was well aware of Ciel's kind deeds. The earl was also far from useless, which Grell failed to see. Sebastian couldn't think of a time where the young master planned on doing something on his own. And love. It was obvious Ciel had no feelings for Sebastian after all that the demon had done to him, but maybe … just maybe … there was some sort of redemption.

Sebastian suddenly froze and stared at Grell, realizing what he had done. The shinigami had stopped moving. It was over. Sebastian lifted the shinigami in the air by his collar and tossed him back into the fire. The demon was completely enraged and it mortified him. It wasn't like him to lose his cool, especially over something so small. He overreacted in front of everyone. One thing had lead up to the next and he just finally burst. It didn't matter, though. It was over with. The demon crossed around the fire and returned to his master, lying still on the sand.

"What are you doing?!" Terrorem growled, pointing back at the fire. "You just threw away our deal! Are you stupid?!"

Sebastian paid no mind to the flustered demon. He kneeled down and gently took a hold of Ciel, lifting him in his arms. He was careful not to crush the fragile character with his abnormal strength. The demon then turned to look back at Terrorem. He scowled at the foolish animal and familiarly whipped his hair from his eyes. "If you wanted him so bad then why didn't you stop me?"

Terrorem couldn't seem to control his anger. He suddenly started thrashing his arms about. "That is it! Everyone, kill him already!"

The demons were struck with fear knowing what their leader could do to them. However, they were also fearful of Sebastian. They would die no matter what action they took, so they might as well die trying to defeat someone they detested. The demons sprouted their wings and screeched into the night sky, then made a quick dash for Sebastian, flying straight for him.

Sebastian's eyes narrowed. He immediately lifted himself into the sky with his wings and made for a speedy escape. He couldn't dare to leave Ciel behind or let him get hurt- the demon couldn't even fight now that he was caressing the man. Instead, Sebastian flapped his wings as hard and as quick as he could, doing whatever it took to keep out of the demons' reach. His eyes darted back at the large crowd following him. There were probably 100 of them in the chase, although that was much less than the entire group from before. Most of them must have chosen not to fight, to his convenience. Yet to his disadvantage, many of them were much larger than Sebastian and looked difficult to defeat. It seemed as if Terrorem had gained new companions.

Sebastian looked forward again, straining to keep away. Oh how he desired to go back down and slice his claws through all of their bodies, but he now held an impeccable responsibility, and that was to take care of Ciel. He was now determined to protect the man with his life. After everything he had done to Ciel in the past, he couldn't help but feel guilty. He didn't know what was eating at him or why; he had never felt this way before. As boldly as he stood up to the idea of love in front of Ciel, he felt entirely shy about it. It bothered him, these strange feelings. Sebastian wished he had gotten it over with and consumed Ciel's soul in the first place, but it was far too late for that. Now he was entitled to protecting the master. Sebastian couldn't imagine a life where he wasn't constantly aiding the man; it was his life.

Ciel's eyes began to slowly open. His vision was slightly blurred, but he could feel a familiar grip around his body. Someone was carrying him, although he had no idea who. Was it possibly Grell? No, this grip was far stronger. It felt like Sebastian, but what could he possibly be doing?

Ciel's head ached with pain. Oh yes, he was just in the middle of a battle with a ferocious beast. So where did Sebastian come into the picture? He focused on the demon's face and his clear vision returned to him. Ciel's eyes narrowed. He truly was in the arms of Sebastian Michaelis, and now he had the perfect chance to attack. But could he dare hurt him after all of the emotion this demon put him through? The noble shook his head. Fulfilling his revenge was what he set his life on and now he had the opportunity. He had to kill Sebastian, no matter how he felt for the butler. Ciel felt the weapon still gripped in his hand, having never let go even in his downfall during battle. He lifted it with difficulty against the fast moving wind, prepared to dig it into the demon's chest. This was the movement that would change his life forever.

Sebastian took a look down at Ciel to see how his injuries were holding up but he was completely surprised to find him awake. This was such terrible timing. The earl would most certainly be astonished by all of the horrors going about. Sebastian warmly smiled at the character in order to bring a sense of comfort to him. "Ah, master, it's so good to see that you're finally awa-"

Ciel thrust the demon blade into Sebastian's body, but not into his chest- his shoulder. He couldn't bring himself to do it, to kill the demon. The noble slipped the knife out of the demon's shoulder, instantly regretting his decision. Sebastian's arm grew weak and he accidentally let go of the earl. All of a sudden, Ciel began to fall. Fall and fall and fall. Had he realized he was so high up, he wouldn't have committed such an idiotic act. He looked below him to see a large group of demons flying up at him, the same demons from the clan in which he had apparently escaped. Sebastian was saving him. _Sebastian was doing something good._

Ciel shrieked for his life and clawed at the air, not wishing to again fall into the hands of those wicked creatures. He would rather splat onto the ground. Unfortunately, one of the demons grabbed at his leg, and another grabbed at his other. In a matter of seconds, a number of demons were clawing at his body and clothes and hair, scratching him wherever they could reach. Ciel tried to fight back but he wasn't strong enough. His knife managed to slice someone's hand away but it didn't do him any good.

Sebastian clutched tightly onto his wound. He had always felt pain after being struck by a weapon, but he had never felt a pain so intense, so real. What exactly was he struck by? There was no time to ponder such thoughts; the young master was being seized by the hands of a bunch of filthy demons. Sebastian flew high into the air and quickly spun around, now speeding straight for the group. They were all foolish to even dare lay a single claw on him. The demon threw his arm backwards and shot it straight through the back of the first demon he approached. He then brought his arm out of the body and let the creature fall to the ground.

His eyes darted from that beast over to the large group of demons surrounding Ciel. He sped right for them and began slashing and thrashing his way through the demons, their crimson water splashing into the sky. Sebastian ripped his way through the group. Someone suddenly fell out of the crowd, but it wasn't a demon; it was Ciel. His heart began to race as he dived for the master, speeding as fast as he could to snatch him from the falling skies.

Something strange began to happen to the earl. Sebastian focused on him, wondering what it could possibly be. Two large and black somethings were sprouting from the noble's backside- wings! Since when had Ciel learned to fly? Sebastian watched the earl in wonder as Ciel awkwardly flapped his wings and dashed for an escape. The demon snickered. For the longest while, the earl had always been searching for Sebastian, but now it seemed as if it would be Sebastian following behind the noble. The demon flapped his wings and quickly changed directions, chasing behind the earl.

No. He had to stay behind. He had to protect the noble. Sebastian would have to take care of all the demons. He could do that, couldn't he? Even with his wound eating away at him? Sebastian stopped in the midst of the air and looked back at all of the demons. There weren't near as many as last time. He could take them, couldn't he? Sebastian looked back at Ciel, watching him speed away to safety. The demon could always find the earl later. For now, it was up to him to protect Ciel. Sebastian turned back to the crowd coming towards him at a rapid pace. He could do it. He had done it before. Sebastian took a deep breath. He flapped his wings and sprung towards the savages, ready to do whatever it took to protect his master.

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**Augh. That's it. I'm completely obsessed with this story. ****I'm not obsessed with this chapter only, but just because of how the story is developing in general.** I feel like everything is as new to me as it is to all of you reading it for the first time. Asfjk I can't wait until the next chapter. I already have some wonderful plans for it.


	10. Rotten Revenge

Chapter 10: Rotten Revenge

Ciel didn't bother to look back as he escaped with his life. He wasn't sure how he was lucky enough to be able to sprout his wings, but he was glad he did so. Now he was soaring beneath the black sky splattered by stars, flapping his wings as fast as he could. It didn't sound or even feel as if anyone was following him, but that didn't encourage him to slow down. If he dared to even slack for a minute then maybe one of those creatures would manage to grab a hold of him. Ciel didn't care that Sebastian and Grell were left behind; he only cared for himself at that moment, fearful.

In the distance below him, he could scarcely make out a group of lights, most likely burning torches in a city. Ciel, having grown extremely weary from the travel and injuries, dived towards the town in hopes of finding a hidden place to rest. The first thing he came across was a large clock tower. His wings quickly disappeared before he even entered through one of the windows and his body hit the floor with a thud as he rolled inside. Ciel coughed and gasped. He forced himself up to his feet and placed his hand on his head. His face and hair was covered in blood, but thankfully the wound only felt minor. However, he'd have to go into town soon and wrap himself up so he didn't suffer from another concussion.

The earl came to the wall and slid down it against his back. He was completely worn out from the stressful night and desired to fall asleep. Unfortunately, he was too troubled to even shut his eyes. Grell and Sebastian were on his mind, wondering where they were or what happened to them. He wasn't particularly worried about the shinigami; that rat had left him to the savages after all. Yet in such a cruel and misunderstanding world, Grell was the only form of a friend he had left and it was always comforting to have someone like him around to keep company. But Ciel wasn't about to search for him.

His thoughts suddenly reverted back to his former butler, Sebastian. He couldn't understand why Sebastian had decided to help him out of the blue. "_I don't like people touching you, young master,"_ the demon had said at one point. He then proceeded to kiss the earl. Was Sebastian truly in love with Ciel? Could that have been why he had chosen to save him? It still didn't make up for all of the unlawful crimes Sebastian committed, whether or not Ciel had mutual feelings for the demon as well. The earl was enraged at him. All Ciel desired to do was rid the world of that beast, but something stopped him when he finally had the chance. Ciel _in fact_ had mutual feelings for Sebastian. He couldn't bring himself to kill Sebastian. He would have been hopelessly lost.

Ciel buried his face in his hands. He had left Sebastian to die. Was he able to take care of himself against all of those ferocious and vicious demons? Of course he was, wasn't he? That demon had gone through countless battles against shinigamis, demons and angels. He could easily handle his own kind. Except… they were much more enormous in size compared to him and far larger in number too. Did Sebastian honestly stand a chance? Ciel shivered at the thought of his former beloved butler being ripped to shreds. As wrathful as he was against the demon, he wouldn't want anything as terrible as that happening to him. Or at least he would rather do it himself.

Ciel lifted his head from his hands, looking out into the clock room. The gears moved at a constant slow pace, fulfilling their duty in properly moving the hands on the clock. It almost reminded him of Big Ben back in London. Oh, how he desired to return to his normal life back in the city, but there was no hope of ever going back to that place. The noble lifted himself up to his feet and made his way towards the window. There he took a gander out at the great city. Much of its buildings represented a similar structure to those of in England. Ciel wistfully gripped his hands onto the window ledge, longing to go back. It indeed would have been nice to return.

Suddenly, something was quickly approaching his window; a dark, black figure. It was hard to make out seeing that it was so far away. Ciel squinted to see what it was. It had… wings… like a bird… and was in the shape of a human body, most certainly not a bird! It must have been one of those famished savages who followed Ciel's bloody scent in hopes to sink its teeth into the noble. The earl rose in panic, not quite sure if he could fend off this enemy. The frantic noble quickly retreated to hide behind some of the moving gears in the clock tower, making absolutely sure to stay out of the beast's view. Although it wouldn't do him any good since the monster could track him down inside, it was the only logical thing he could think to do.

Ciel waited patiently for the creature to arrive, his breaths heavy although silent. His hand clutched tightly onto one of the bars for support, begging that whatever came for him would leave him alone. The earl was in no condition to fight. It was times like these that he wished Sebastian were still at his side. Unfortunately, the noble stabbed him and left him to be eaten by the demons. What a pitiful and heartless mistake.

A long shadow stretched across the clock tower's wooden floor, extending up the stone wall. The shadow soon filled up the entire room before suddenly disappearing; the figure stopped and stood in the window, scanning the inside. It was hard to make out who it was. All that Ciel could see was large wings blocking out the light. The mysterious character took a heavy, lazy step onto the floor, followed by another step, and the figure suddenly collapsed to his knees, then face-first onto the ground.

Ciel held his breath, his eyes locked onto the guest. The light from the window clearly shined down onto the fainted demon and the earl recognized it not to be one of those savages at all. It was Sebastian who lied unconscious on the floor, his breathing slow and silent. Wounds of all sorts were scattered all along his body. He was bleeding immensely, far more than Ciel's mere head injury. The crimson ran out of Sebastian's gashes and gouges like a flowing river. It amazed the earl that this demon was even still alive.

The noble fled from his hiding spot and kneeled down to Sebastian's side. He rolled the demon over on his back, being careful not to hurt his wings. "Sebastian," was the only gasp that Ciel's confused lips were able to speak. He trembled as he shook the bloodied demon's chest in attempt to wake him. He constantly spoke the demon's name, elevating in pitch and volume. He soon found himself practically screaming Sebastian's title in a desperate attempt to open his eyes.

It was no use. The demon only remained unmoved, although he was thankfully still breathing. Ciel shivered as he stared at the man. What had he possibly done to have himself nearly killed like this? Well, he was left to defend himself against a bunch of demons, for sure. This was clearly Ciel's fault. Had he only compromised with Sebastian then none of this would have happened. The earl sulked in his own guilt, wishing he had never done such a thing. Maybe he could put Sebastian out of his misery and finish off the kill, stab him in the chest. He'd also be fulfilling his own revenge. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

The noble slipped out his knife from his pocket again, lifting it high above his head. Yet as he stared at the peacefully sleeping demon, he again found himself unable to complete the task. His arms stood still amidst the air. _Do it_, Ciel encouraged, his grip tightening around the handle. _He's suffering. It's the least you can do. _But it didn't faze him. Ciel disappointingly dropped his hands into his lap. He looked up at the ceiling and cursed himself for his selfish feelings.

A sudden cough slipped Sebastian's lips. Ciel immediately turned his gaze back to Sebastian in awe, watching the demon slowly open his eyes. For a moment he was in a foggy daze, staring blankly at nothing while trying to process the events and everything surrounding him. After a while, Sebastian seemed to come back to himself. The demon tried to force himself up into a sitting position, but instantly winced at the pain. He clutched onto his side and fell onto his back once more, basking in the intensity of his wounds.

Ciel watched him sorrowfully, wondering what he could possibly do to help the poor fool. "Are you alright?" Ciel pointlessly asked, anxiously gazing at Sebastian's terrible state.

Sebastian's eyes suddenly darted towards Ciel in fear, having never noticed him in the room until that moment. The entire time he thought he was completely alone, yet the earl was right by his side. How long had he been there? "I don't suppose… you want me to lie… do you?" Sebastian coughed, sputtering blood. He was somewhat irritated with the noble for stabbing him, though he was entirely relieved to find that the master was safe. His eyes trailed up to Ciel's head gash and concentrated on that area in particular, worried about its state. "You're injured."

Ciel shook his head. "There you go again, always having to tend to my wounds first. You're not my butler anymore! You don't have to put up that act!" Honestly, it flattered him that Sebastian still held so much concern for him.

Sebastian suddenly forced himself up again, this time with a difficult success. The expression on his face was utterly agonizing in that position, but he wanted a better look at Ciel's wound. He placed his hand on the master's head and gently stroked it, studying its condition. "I'll have to fetch you… a needle and wire… so I can sew your injury." Having intentionally ignored Ciel's complaints, the demon began to force himself to stand but immediately failed and stumbled and collapsed to his knees. His hand traditionally clutched onto his side in order to stop the blood flow.

Ciel was startled by Sebastian's heavy gasps and utter weakness. He wasn't quite sure how to react in such a situation like this. His butler had always been so strong, but now the demon was practically dying in front of his eyes. "I can gather some equipment for you," Ciel quickly spoke, struck with undeniable panic. "If you teach me, I'll sew and bandage you up. I'll make you better."

"That won't be necessary," Sebastian coughed, blood spitting from his mouth again. "I… I just need some rest."

Ciel watched the demon stand with difficulty and stagger towards the wall, swaying back and forth. He collapsed with his back against the stone edge and fell to the floor, leaning on the wall for sitting support. His eyes were shut and his breaths became less heavy. It was obvious he was in severe pain, no matter how much he tried to disguise it.

The two remained silent, having nothing to speak of for the longest while. They occasionally looked at each other but instantly turned their gazes away. Ciel was soon growing tired of the silence. He fidgeted in his spot at a distance from Sebastian and cleared his throat. "Do you have any idea what happened to Grell?" He asked, although highly doubtful that Sebastian knew anything. Grell had never returned to the site.

It took a moment for Sebastian to understand what Ciel was asking. He slowly nodded his head and slightly parted his lips, speaking so low that the earl could hardly hear him. "Grell passed away… shortly after I arrived." He made sure to leave all of the details out and hoped that Ciel didn't ask him how. He had been observing the master and the shinigami and knew how close they came to be. The earl would be devastated if he knew that Sebastian had anything to do with Grell's death.

Ciel slightly bowed his head. The demons must have gotten a hold of him. Maybe Grell accidentally stumbled in there and got what he deserved. Served him right for leaving. The noble shifted in his seat and rested his eyes as well, deciding that maybe in his conversation he'd fall into a slumber. "So… what made you come to save me?" He suddenly asked. It was obvious Sebastian had no use for him now that his soul was missing, so what could Ciel possibly have that the demon wanted?

There was a long moment of silence between the two, an uncomfortable silence. Ciel almost thought that Sebastian either fell asleep or died in his presence, but Sebastian let out a reassuring sigh. "I supposed… that I had nothing else to do... so I saved you … That's all."

Ciel's eyes opened and narrowed at the phony excuse. He let out a "hmp" and pouted his lips.

Sebastian's eyes soon reopened as well and took a glance at the earl, wondering if he would fall for such a selfish lie. It seemed reasonable, considering all of the misfortunate acts that the demon had committed towards the earl. Yet, as he looked at his master in the eyes, he realized that this human had grown far more intelligible in the past 10 years or so. Sebastian coyly smirked and shook his head, feeling it was necessary to dump the truth on the noble. After all, he didn't know how much time he had left or if he had any at all. "I've… fallen in love with you… although I don't know why or how."

Ciel's eyes slightly widened. So he was right. That demon _had _fallen in love with him. Ciel looked down at the floor. "How am I supposed to feel about that? All you've caused me is pain and suffering. You shouldn't expect for me to feel the same about you," the earl flustered, infuriated with Sebastian's heartbreaking honesty. It was settled. They both loved each other, but there was no possible way that the earl could confess to that. After all, it was his sole desire to kill Sebastian.

However, the demon could easily see through Ciel's mask and knew that the noble had feelings for him as well. He bowed his head and shut his eyes again, too tired to stay awake. "You have to do… what you must do, master…" Sebastian whispered, barely audible. "Now you have me cornered … If you want to kill me… go ahead … I'm not going anywhere … In fact, I prefer that… you kill me right now."

And again they fell into another uncomfortable silence. Sebastian knew that Ciel didn't have the heart to kill him. If he did, then the noble would have done it earlier. Now that Sebastian was experiencing intense pain, he wished to be dead right then and almost hoped that Ciel would complete the revenge. However regardless of Sebastian's unforgiving past, the noble couldn't live without the demon. Sebastian knew that fact so well that it made his skin crawl and sent butterflies spinning in his stomach. Humans were most certainly creatures that were difficult to understand, and Ciel was by far one of the worst. And maybe it was that Ciel was a half-demon that began to lead him to such strange decisions.

A small noise erupted from Ciel's side of the room. It was a familiar sound that Sebastian so detested to hear, yet he had caused many times in his lifetime. The earl was sobbing, and Sebastian knew exactly why.

Ciel was confused whether or not to follow his heart that desired love or his hands that craved revenge. At that moment, he loathed Sebastian with a passion so great that he could have killed him right then and there. However, he didn't want to be alone. He was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. Sebastian had won.

"Come on," Sebastian suddenly interrupted, breaking Ciel's thoughts. "You're a young man … You're too old to cry."

Ciel quickly wiped his tears away and looked up at Sebastian, his eyes red from crying. Yet as he looked at his old friend, he didn't know what to say. The earl made his way to Sebastian and sat in front of him with his legs crossed. However, his eyes glued onto the floor between them, not wanting to look at his dying butler. "Well, now what? You're just going to die in front of me? You're not going to do anything to survive?"

Sebastian lightly chuckled and slipped a cough. He repositioned himself and looked at the master once more, smiling compassionately at the poor boy. "Although I am a demon, you _did_ stab me … I've lost a lot of blood…"

Ciel shook his head and began to sob again. He brushed his bangs back but they only fell again into his face. "It was only your shoulder. You can't die from that," he winced as his hot tears rolled down his face. "You can't die from that whether I struck you with the demon blade or not!"

"Ciel," Sebastian soothingly whispered, trying to calm the noble down. He had never spoken his master's name before, which startled Ciel and caused him to look up. He was now gazing in the sincere eyes of the demon; the enemy whom he had always sought revenge on. Sebastian was genuinely smiling at him. He looked peaceful, despite his slight agonized expression. "It was… the top of my lung … I can feel it … You just barely hit it, but… there's no saving me from that." He suddenly shivered, and his trembling hand slid up from his side to near his shoulder, clutching it as tight as he possibly could. "I'm sorry for… all of the trouble I've caused you…"

"You idiot! I should be furious with you, but I can't!" Ciel screamed, his fingers gripping onto his clothes. "I hate you so much, yet you've caused me to fall in love with you. I was supposed to be with Elizabeth! I was going to live a normal life with her, but now I can't because of you! And now I have feelings for a man I never thought I'd love! You're damn right you're sorry!" Ciel's sobs became uncontrollable as he quickly wiped away his undying tears. They came at a constant flow and became difficult to manage. There was no point in wiping them away if they would only quickly return.

Sebastian stared in torment at the love of his life. He leaned forward, ignoring the pain, and took a tight hold onto one of Ciel's hands. He looked the earl in the eyes, his smile absent from his face. "I don't know… why I did those things. I've… I've never felt this way before … I only wish… I could have shown it differently … I wish I could have… made you happy … Yet, I only caused you pain … Please, forgive me…"

Sebastian's words easily flowed through Ciel's head as easily as they went out. The earl could hardly hear the demon trying to coax him. He was hurt and confused and didn't know how to handle anything. However, as Sebastian continued to offer his comforting words, Ciel's tantrum died down into quick gasps and his tears ceased existence from his face. It wasn't like either of them to portray any sort of weakness or affection towards each other, but in their time of need all they had was the other companion. It was time to ask for forgiveness and forgive, and maybe everything would be alright between them.

"Sebastian," Ciel's voice shivered. "I forgive you. And… it's only fair to admit that… that I suppose I love you too. I didn't think it would ever come to anything like this. I should be mad, but I guess I'm not. I'm actually glad I can spend these last moments with you, even in your dying breath. Even knowing I won't be able to see you ever again."

"I… I love you… too…" Sebastian lightly smiled, squeezing the earl's hand and releasing it again. He could feel himself growing weaker and the pain becoming that much more excruciating. "Can… you do… something… for me…? Something… that will… make us… both happy…"

Ciel's eyebrows lifted and looked at the beloved demon once more in curiosity.

"Please… put me… out of… my misery… and fulfill… your long awaited… revenge."

No more tears were left for the earl. All of his sorrow had died into nothing. He only nodded, knowing it was the right thing for both of them. The earl leaned in for once last passionate kiss, knowing he'd never be able to taste his lips again. Then he moved back again and with both hands he picked up the demon blade from the cold floor and placed the tip of the blade on Sebastian's chest right where his heart was. He could practically feel the vibrations of Sebastian's strong heart beating through the weapon. The earl's hands trembled immensely, but it had to be done. They looked at each other in the eyes and placed full trust in each other, saying their final silent goodbyes. The noble then thrust the blade into Sebastian's chest, watching the demon gasp and suddenly become lifeless. His chest poured blood as the earl removed the weapon, clutching it in his hands.

There was nothing left to do. Ciel had no friends, no family, not even an acquaintance. He had just killed the one he loved, so all he could do then was die. The earl slipped back to lean against Sebastian's body once more, wanting to die with him. He then lifted up the weapon in the air, the pointed, bloodied blade aiming for his body. Without any regrets, the noble thrust the knife into his chest as well and his cold, demised hands immediately fell to the floor next to him. All he had ever wanted was to avenge his parents and everyone he had ever loved. He never knew it would come to such a heart throbbing ending as this.

* * *

**I'm sorry I ended this story so suddenly! I actually had a completely different ending in mind where they were going to fight and everything, but I'm just so tired of writing this. I want it to be done. I love it and all, yet sadly I know this isn't a good ending whatsoever. However, I really want to work on my other stories and I never felt that this was a strong piece in the first place. It was just fun to work on and that's it. Haha I'm almost regretting posting the last chapter like this and I feel like I should continue it how I had originally planned. Maybe I'll make a new story where Sebastian and Ciel will fight to the death, and it'll be a much much much better than this story. Anyhow, thank you for all of your kind reviews. I definitely enjoyed reading them and they encouraged me to continue with this story.**


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